12 Highest-Rated Consumer Stocks Picked by S&P
Written by: Frank Byrt
Tickers in this article:
RCL COH TGT MCD GM TIF CBS JCI TRW DWA MGA
(Story updated to add that Tiffany recently raised its fiscal 2012 earnings outlook.)
BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Consumer-discretionary stocks, led by auto makers, restaurants and retailers, and their suppliers, have been among the top performers coming out of the recession, and it looks like this year will be no exception.
Those shares were up 15.7% through the end of the first quarter, versus the S&P 500's 12% gain, outdone only by information-technology stocks, which gained 20.8%, and financials, up 19.8%.
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"This comes after three consecutive years of relative strength for the consumer-discretionary sector through the end of 2011, during which it outperformed the broader market index by an average of more than 1,100 basis points per year," said Tuna Amobi, an S&P Capital IQ equity analyst, in a research note.