The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Consolidated Edison (ED) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Consolidated Edison is one of 110 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Consolidated Edison is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ED's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, ED has gained about 15.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 10% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Consolidated Edison is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Exelon (EXC). The stock is up 12.5% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Exelon's current year EPS has increased 1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Consolidated Edison belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 60 individual stocks and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.4% this year, meaning that ED is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Exelon is also part of the same industry.
Consolidated Edison and Exelon could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Consolidated Edison Inc (ED): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).