Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. United Natural Foods (UNFI) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

United Natural Foods is one of 180 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. United Natural Foods is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNFI's full-year earnings has moved 19.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that UNFI has returned about 17.1% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 1.1%. This means that United Natural Foods 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 US Foods (USFD). The stock is up 3.6% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, US Foods' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, United Natural Foods belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 43 individual stocks and currently sits at #170 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 3.5% so far this year, so UNFI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. US Foods is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on United Natural Foods and US Foods as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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