For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Sanderson Farms (SAFM) been one of those stocks this year? 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.Sanderson Farms is one of 191 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #15 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Sanderson Farms is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAFM's full-year earnings has moved 47% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Based on the latest available data, SAFM has gained about 41.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 2.8% on average. As we can see, Sanderson Farms is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Tyson Foods (TSN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 29.2%.Over the past three months, Tyson Foods' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Sanderson Farms belongs to the Food - Meat Products industry, a group that includes 6 individual stocks and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.8% so far this year, meaning that SAFM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Tyson Foods is also part of the same industry.Sanderson Farms and Tyson Foods could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sanderson Farms, Inc. (SAFM): Free Stock Analysis Report Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research