The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. General Mills (GIS) 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of GIS and the rest of the Consumer Staples group's stocks.General Mills is one of 191 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #9 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. GIS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GIS's full-year earnings has moved 1.84% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Based on the most recent data, GIS has returned 7.43% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 4.16%. This means that General Mills is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Breaking things down more, GIS is a member of the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 48 individual companies and currently sits at #187 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 5.05% this year, meaning that GIS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.GIS will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 77 billion devices by 2025, creating a $1.3 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 4 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2022.Click here for the 4 trades >>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 General Mills, Inc. (GIS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research