ZACKS·2025-04-01 14:41Group 1: Company Performance - Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMBBY) has returned approximately 15.8% year-to-date, outperforming the average gain of about 7% in the Consumer Staples sector [4] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IMBBY's full-year earnings has increased by 2% over the past three months, indicating improving analyst sentiment [3] - In comparison to its industry, Imperial Tobacco is slightly underperforming, as the Tobacco industry has gained about 23.4% year-to-date [5] Group 2: Industry Context - The Consumer Staples sector includes 177 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of 14 out of 16 groups [2] - The Tobacco industry, which includes 6 companies, is ranked 169 in the Zacks Industry Rank [5] - Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, WK Kellogg (KLG), has returned 10.8% year-to-date and has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [4][5]