The consumer staples sector is composed of companies that produce and sell items considered essential for everyday use. Consumer staples products include household goods, food, beverages, hygiene products, and other items that individuals are either unwilling or unable to eliminate from their budgets even in times of financial trouble. As a result, these companies are viewed as non-cyclical and able to maintain stable growth regardless of the state of the economy. Some of the big names in the sector include Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), Coca-Cola Co. (KO), and General Mills Inc. (GIS).
Consumer staples stocks, as represented by the benchmark Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP), have underperformed the broader market over the past year. XLP has provided investors with a total return of 20.7% over the past 12 months, well below the Russell 1000’s total return of 39.9%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of June 17, 2021.
Here are the top 3 consumer staples stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.
These are the consumer staples stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.
| Best Value Consumer Staples Stocks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing P/E Ratio | |
| Bunge Ltd. ( BG) |
78.01 | 11.0 | 5.4 |
| Graham Holdings Co. ( GHC) |
639.77 | 3.2 | 7.2 |
| The Kroger Co. ( KR) |
39.18 | 29.7 | 12.1 |
Source: YCharts
- Bunge Ltd.: Bunge is a global agribusiness and food company. It supplies and transports agricultural commodities, including sugar ethanol, wheat, and corn. The company also processes oilseeds and grains and sells fertilizers.
- Graham Holdings Co.: Graham Holdings is a conglomerate involved in educational services, newspaper print, online publishing, and television broadcasting. It also owns auto dealerships, restaurants, and hospice care facilities. On June 14, Graham Holdings announced that it had completed the acquisition of Leaf Group Ltd., a consumer internet company with brands in fitness, wellness, and home design. The all-cash transaction was valued at roughly $323 million.
- The Kroger Co.: Kroger operates a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the U.S. The company also manufactures and processes some of the food products sold in its stores. For Q1 2021, net earnings attributable to Kroger plunged year-over-year (YOY) along with a modest drop in sales. Still, the company’s digital sales, an area of focus in recent quarters, climbed by 16% over the same period.
These are the top consumer staples stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and their most recent quarterly YOY earnings per share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one or the other figure unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of over 2,500% were excluded as outliers.
| Fastest Growing Consumer Staples Stocks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | EPS Growth (%) | Revenue Growth (%) | |
| Target Corp. ( TGT) |
231.22 | 114.4 | 644.6 | 23.4 |
| Casey’s General Stores Inc. ( CASY) |
201.71 | 7.5 | -32.9 | 217.1 |
| Boston Beer Co. Inc. ( SAM) |
970.14 | 11.9 | 253.0 | 64.9 |
Source: YCharts
- Target Corp.: Target Corp. operates a chain of discount stores in all 50 U.S. states and in dozens of foreign nations. The company sells primarily general merchandise products through its brick-and-mortar locations and an online business. Target’s board of directors declared on June 9 a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per common share. This represents an increase of nearly a third from the prior quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable Sept. 10 to stockholders of record as of Aug. 18, 2021.
- Casey’s General Stores Inc.: Casey’s General Stores operates a chain of convenience stores with locations throughout the Midwest. Stores sell food, beverages, health products, automotive supplies, gasoline, and similar offerings. For Q4 2021, ended April 30, net income plunged even as total revenue rose more than 31%.
- Boston Beer Co. Inc.: Boston Beer is a brewer that produces and sells craft-brewed beers and cider products at its own breweries and various contract breweries.
These are the consumer staples stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.
| Consumer Staples Stocks with the Most Momentum | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price ($) | Market Cap ($B) | 12-Month Trailing Total Return (%) | |
| Bunge Ltd. (BG) | 78.01 | 11.0 | 99.2 |
| Target Corp. (TGT) | 231.22 | 114.4 | 98.7 |
| Graham Holdings Co. (GHC) | 639.77 | 3.2 | 90.5 |
| Russell 1000 | N/A | N/A | 39.9 |
| Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) | N/A | N/A | 20.7 |
Source: YCharts
- Bunge Ltd.: See above for company description.
- Target Corp.: See above for company description.
- Graham Holdings Co.: See above for company description.
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