3 Top Perfoming Consumer Stocks

2013 has been an excellent year for stock investors with the S&P 500 already adding nearly nine percent. Many individual stocks have done much better and one of the hottest sectors has been consumer names as a pick-up in employment and home values has strengthened the economic landscape. Below, Benzinga highlights three consumer stocks with market caps over $2 billion that have already risen better than 50 percent in 2013. Sony SNE
This Japanese electronics manufacturer has had a rough decade with the stock falling almost 55 percent during that time. Recent years have also not been kind to Sony, as the stock has lost almost 59 percent over the last five years. The catalyst for the falling stock price has been plunging revenue at the company as newer technologies take away Sony's market share. During the first months of 2013, however, the stock has rebounded from depressed levels seen in late 2012. Shares have already climbed more than 54 percent in 2013. Nevertheless, the stock would have to more than double from current prices just to get back to where it was trading at the beginning of 2011. Navistar International NAV
This is another example of a stock which is up a lot in 2013 despite being in a long-term downtrend. The commercial and military truck manufacturer has fallen around 22 percent over the last five years and almost 50 percent from highs seen in April 2011. Nevertheless, shares are up around 62 percent in 2013 with most of the gains coming in the wake of a very strong first-quarter earnings report in early March. Fifth & Pacific FNP
This company owns a portfolio of retail brands including Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, and the Lucky Brand. The stock was hit extremely hard in the wake of the financial crisis and is only now starting to recover. In late 2007, shares traded at more than $44, which compares to the current price of around $19. In early 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, FNP traded below $2. In recent years, however, the stock has been moving consistently higher and FNP has recently broken out to multi-year highs after surging almost 54 percent in 2013.