Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Premier Foods PLC. (PRRFY) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Staples sector should help us answer this question.

Premier Foods PLC. is one of 181 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #13 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Premier Foods PLC. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PRRFY's full-year earnings has moved 3.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, PRRFY has returned 9.8% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 5.9%. This means that Premier Foods PLC. is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Reeds (REED). The stock is up 122.3% year-to-date.

In Reeds' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 33.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Premier Foods PLC. belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 43 individual companies and currently sits at #173 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.5% so far this year, so PRRFY is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Reeds belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. This 16-stock industry is currently ranked #65. The industry has moved +9.4% year to date.

Premier Foods PLC. and Reeds could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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Premier Foods PLC. (PRRFY):Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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