The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Enel Chile (ENIC) 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.
Enel Chile is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 111 different companies and currently sits at #15 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 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. Enel Chile is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ENIC's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that ENIC has returned about 7.2% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Utilities stocks have lost an average of 1.3%. This means that Enel Chile is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is MYR Group (MYRG). The stock is up 24.4% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, MYR Group's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Enel Chile belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 63 individual companies and currently sits at #179 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1.6% so far this year, so ENIC is performing better in this area.
In contrast, MYR Group falls under the Electric Construction industry. Currently, this industry has 2 stocks and is ranked #11. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -80.4%.
Investors with an interest in Utilities stocks should continue to track Enel Chile and MYR Group. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Enel Chile S.A. (ENIC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).