The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. New Jersey Resources (NJR) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
New Jersey Resources is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 110 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. New Jersey Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NJR's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, NJR has gained about 24.9% so far this year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 4.8%. This means that New Jersey Resources is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sabesp (SBS). The stock is up 22.6% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Sabesp's current year EPS has increased 322.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, New Jersey Resources belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, which includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #180 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.3% so far this year, so NJR is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Sabesp belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry. This 11-stock industry is currently ranked #185. The industry has moved +3.7% year to date.
New Jersey Resources and Sabesp could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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NewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (SBS): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).