Is United Natural Foods (UNFI) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?

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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.United Natural Foods is one of 184 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #16 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track 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 28.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.According to our latest data, UNFI has moved about 55.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have lost about 0.7% on average. This shows that United Natural Foods is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Village Farms (VFF), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 359.1%.For Village Farms, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 233.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Looking more specifically, United Natural Foods belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #185 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 8.5% so far this year, meaning that UNFI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. In contrast, Village Farms falls under the Consumer Products - Staples industry. Currently, this industry has 36 stocks and is ranked #175. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -10.9%.United Natural Foods and Village Farms could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.Quantum Computing Stocks Set To SoarArtificial intelligence has already reshaped the investment landscape, and its convergence with quantum computing could lead to the most significant wealth-building opportunities of our time.Today, you have a chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this technological revolution. In our urgent special report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power, you'll discover the little-known stocks we believe will win the quantum computing race and deliver massive gains to early investors.Access the Report Free Now >>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 United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI): Free Stock Analysis Report Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks