Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Clorox (CLX) 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? 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.

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

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLX's full-year earnings has moved 3.5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, CLX has gained about 13.9% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 0.5%. As we can see, Clorox is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC). The stock is up 64.1% year-to-date.

For Pilgrim's Pride, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Clorox belongs to the Consumer Products - Staples industry, which includes 30 individual stocks and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8% so far this year, so CLX is performing better in this area.

Pilgrim's Pride, however, belongs to the Food - Meat Products industry. Currently, this 4-stock industry is ranked #3. The industry has moved +10.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Clorox and Pilgrim's Pride as they could maintain their solid performance.

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