For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Exelon (EXC) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Utilities sector should help us answer this question.
Exelon is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 107 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Exelon is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EXC's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, EXC has moved about 6.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 5.5% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Exelon is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Consolidated Edison (ED) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 10.2%.
For Consolidated Edison, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Exelon is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 58 individual companies and currently sits at #88 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.1% so far this year, so EXC is performing better in this area. Consolidated Edison is also part of the same industry.
Exelon and Consolidated Edison could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Exelon Corporation (EXC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Consolidated Edison Inc (ED): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).