The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Freshpet (FRPT) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Freshpet is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 181 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Freshpet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FRPT's full-year earnings has moved 13.5% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, FRPT has moved about 1.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have lost about 4.3% on average. This means that Freshpet is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Helen of Troy (HELE). The stock is up 4.9% year-to-date.

In Helen of Troy's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Freshpet belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 43 individual stocks and currently sits at #189 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 11.2% this year, meaning that FRPT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Helen of Troy falls under the Cosmetics industry. Currently, this industry has 11 stocks and is ranked #211. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -44.4%.

Freshpet and Helen of Troy could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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