Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Ingredion (INGR) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Staples sector should help us answer this question.

Ingredion is a member of our Consumer Staples group, which includes 183 different companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Ingredion is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for INGR's full-year earnings has moved 3.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, INGR has returned 24.9% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 6.3%. This means that Ingredion is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is McCormick (MKC). The stock has returned 15.1% year-to-date.

For McCormick, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Ingredion belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 46 individual companies and currently sits at #141 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.4% so far this year, so INGR is performing better in this area. McCormick is also part of the same industry.

Ingredion and McCormick could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (MKC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research