While many investors have been distracted by the recent drop in leading technology shares, a traditionally overlooked part of the market is seeing a major boom: consumer staples. The S & P 500 consumer staples sector hit a record on Monday, putting it more than 8% higher over the past three months. In the past month alone, the collection of supermarket chains and food ingredient makers has gained more than 5%, making it the third best-performing sector in the broad index. Tech, the market stalwart for more than a year, has struggled lately. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) is down 4% over the past three months. It’s also gained just 0.8% over the past month. Those moves come as concern remains over the state of the U.S. economy. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said 142,000 jobs were created in August, well below the 161,000 expected by economists. New manufacturing data released last week added to those worries. Against this backdrop, we used the CNBC Pro Stock Screener tool to find consumer staple stocks that could outperform going forward. Here’s the criteria used: S & P 500 consumer staples sector member Consensus buy rating from analysts Upside to average price target of more than 10% Just three stocks made the cut: Kroger , Constellation Brands and Bunge Global . Kroger is expected to gain more than 12% going forward, based on analysts consensus price targets. Shares have popped more than 13% year to date. That puts the grocery store chain on track for its best year since 2021 — when it surged nearly 43%. Constellation Brands isn’t doing as well. Shares are up more than 3% in 2024. However, analysts see upside of 18% for the Modelo beer distributor. Food processor Bunge Global, meanwhile, is expected to jump nearly 17% from current levels. Year to date, the stock is down 2%. Elsewhere on Wall Street this morning, Bernstein initiated research coverage of GE Aerospace with an outperform rating. Its price target of $201 implies upside of 25%. “GE is the largest player in aircraft propulsion and consistently delivers the highest [profit] margins,” analyst Douglas Harned wrote of the company’s jet engine business. “Near-term, GE is set to continue benefiting from engine aftermarket demand.”
