What sell-off? 19 big stocks churn out gains

Not everyone is getting pummeled by the market's sell-off. Investors in some rather unexciting corners of the market are getting some pretty exciting gains.

There are 19 stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500, including meat processor Tyson Foods (TSN), utility Consolidated Edison (ED) and food company Campbell Soup (CPB) that are flourishing amid the market's downturn and generating solid returns, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. These are are all that much sweeter as most investors are getting walloped.

Each of these stocks are up for the year - which is a notable feat in itself given that the S&P 500 is down nearly 11% in this dismal start to 2016. On top of their year-to-date gains, each of these stocks have been rising amid the ongoing turmoil that started last year. All 19 of these stocks are only 3.5% away from their highest levels the past 52 weeks - and are all up from last May when the broad market peaked.

Finding gains in this stock market is getting increasingly difficult. The S&P 500 is down 14.1% from its high notched last May - and has been struggling to find its footing since. But these 19 stocks are up an average of 21% from that same point when the market tapped out. Those gains are all that much sweeter as investors in some of the hottest areas of the market are down by brutal amounts. Even Elon Musk has lost billions this year on stock investments.

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Investors have been following a tried-and-true playbook when seeking ways to profit amid a market sell-off: Focusing on sure things. Companies that sell consumer staples, which are goods consumers need in good times and bad, and utilities have been on a winning strategy. Nearly half of the 19 stocks that are scoring are in the consumer staples industry. That's followed by a third that are in utilities.

It's easy to understand why. Take Tyson Foods, which is a processor of meat. Not only are shares up 13% this year but they're up 38% from the market's peak last year and hit a new 52-week high this week. The company has been churning out steady revenue growth every year since 2009. And even in 2009, when many companies' revenue fell apart, Tyson's revenue fell less than 1%. Revenue is expected to fall 10% this fiscal year, but analysts are still calling for the company's adjusted profit to rise 27%, says S&P Global Market Intelligence.

It's tough to beat utilities during times of market distress. Sometimes it takes a market downtown to appreciate these investments. Consolidated Edison, which serves the New York area, is up 18% this year - and that's not even including the company's market-beating 3.6% dividend yield. The stock is just 2% away from a 52-week high and is up 18% from the market's peak last year.

There's something mmm, mmm good about packaged food companies, too, during periods of economic uncertainty. Campbell Soup has been working to make its products more competitive in an age of grass-fed organic beef and build-to-order cuisine. But the recipe of dependable food at competitive prices is looking tasty to investors, now. Shares of Campbell are up 9% this year and are up 22% from last year's market high. The company pays a 2.2% dividend yield, too. Campbell continues to struggle with revenue growth - analysts expected revenue this fiscal year to be flattish. But analysts see profit jumping 15% this fiscal year.

If you own hot tech stocks - or most stocks for that matter - you're feeling the pain. But lately, it's paying to hunker down with defensive stocks that know how to churn out gains no matter what the economy is doing.

S&P 500 STOCKS THAT ARE THRIVING AS MARKET STRUGGLES

Company, symbol, % from market high, % YTD

Realty Income, O, 28%, 16.4%

Tyson Foods, TSN, 38.1%, 12.6%

Consolidated Edison, ED, 17.6%, 12.3%

Campbell Soup, CPB, 22.2%, 9.1%

CMS Energy, CMS, 14.8%, 8.8%

Xcel Energy, XEL, 13%, 8.6%

SCANA, SCG, 20.9%, 6.7%

McCormick & Company, MKC, 13.8%, 5.6%

Hormel Foods, HRL, 45%, 5.4%

AT&T, T, 3.3%, 5.2%

Sysco, SYY, 11.8%, 3.9%

Altria, MO, 16.2%, 3.1%

The J. M. Smucker Company, SJM, 5.8%, 2.3%

Cincinnati Financial, CINF, 18.1%, 2.3%

Kellogg, K, 15.2%, 2%

TECO Energy, TE, 42%, 1.7%

AGL Resources, GAS, 29.1%, 1.4%

Airgas, ARG, 34.6%, 1.2%

Philip Morris International, PM, 3.8%, 0.5%

Sources: S&P Global Market Intelligence, USA TODAY