Is Altria Group (MO) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?

Group 1 - Altria is currently outperforming its Consumer Staples peers with a year-to-date return of 2.2%, while the average return for the sector is -0.6% [4] - The Zacks Rank for Altria is 2 (Buy), indicating a positive earnings outlook as the consensus estimate for full-year earnings has increased by 0.9% over the past quarter [3] - Altria belongs to the Tobacco industry, which has an average year-to-date gain of 39.1%, suggesting that Altria is slightly underperforming its industry [5] Group 2 - Simply Good Foods, another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, has a year-to-date return of 0.9% and also holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [4][5] - The Food - Confectionery industry, where Simply Good Foods is categorized, has seen a decline of -15.6% since the beginning of the year [6] - Investors should monitor both Altria and Simply Good Foods for their potential to maintain solid performance in the Consumer Staples sector [6]