For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has BRF (BRFS) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

BRF is one of 185 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #15 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRFS' full-year earnings has moved 10.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, BRFS has returned 68.7% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 4.9%. This means that BRF is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Freshpet (FRPT) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 77.8%.

The consensus estimate for Freshpet's current year EPS has increased 25% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, BRF belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 46 individual stocks and currently sits at #145 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 1.9% this year, meaning that BRFS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Freshpet is also part of the same industry.

BRF and Freshpet 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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