Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Corteva, Inc. (CTVA) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Corteva, Inc. is one of 199 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Corteva, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTVA's full-year earnings has moved 2.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that CTVA has returned about 14.5% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 1.5%. As we can see, Corteva, Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Sanderson Farms (SAFM), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 13.3%.

For Sanderson Farms, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 54.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Corteva, Inc. belongs to the Agriculture - Operations industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #54 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.1% this year, meaning that CTVA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Sanderson Farms belongs to the Food - Meat Products industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #32. The industry has moved -5.4% year to date.

Corteva, Inc. and Sanderson Farms 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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