Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging British American Tobacco (BTI) This Year?

Group 1 - British American Tobacco (BTI) is currently outperforming its Consumer Staples peers with a year-to-date return of approximately 22.8%, compared to the average gain of 5.5% in the sector [4] - The Zacks Rank for British American Tobacco is 2 (Buy), indicating a positive earnings outlook as the consensus estimate for full-year earnings has increased by 0.2% over the past 90 days [3] - In the Tobacco industry, which includes 6 companies, British American Tobacco ranks 26 in the Zacks Industry Rank, slightly underperforming its industry average return of 26% this year [5] Group 2 - The Consumer Staples group, which includes British American Tobacco, is currently ranked 12 within the Zacks Sector Rank, reflecting the strength of the sector [2] - Vital Farms (VITL), another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, has significantly outperformed with a return of 94.2% since the beginning of the year [4] - The Food - Miscellaneous industry, where Vital Farms belongs, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 99 and has seen a slight decline of -0.2% this year [6]