Erin Gibbs, chief equity investment officer at S&P Investment Advisory, though, warned of the high valuations in the consumer staples after the run up, pointing out that the sector’s price-to-earnings ratio is at all-time highs as well. The consumer staples sector shows a 21 forward P/E, compared to the broader S&P 500’s P/E of 16.
XLP shows a 21.19 P/E and a 4.38 price-to-book. In contrast, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) has a 16.73 P/E and a 2.35 P/B.
Additionally, Gibbs projects the sector’s growth will remain depressed, with 2.5% expected earnings growth and less than 1% revenue growth.
“You can see people really piling in,” Gibbs told CNBC. “This is very much about a flight to safety, stable dividend yields, and obviously trying to avoid some of that volatility.”
Consumer Staples Select SPDR