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? 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.

Freshpet is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 191 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Freshpet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FRPT's full-year earnings has moved 140% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that FRPT has returned about 20.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of -0.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Freshpet is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Hormel Foods (HRL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 8.2%.

For Hormel Foods, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Freshpet is a member of the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 45 individual companies and currently sits at #100 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.8% so far this year, so FRPT is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Hormel Foods falls under the Food - Meat Products industry. Currently, this industry has 5 stocks and is ranked #6. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +12.3%.

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

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Freshpet, Inc. (FRPT):Free Stock Analysis Report

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