For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Imperial Oil (IMO) 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 Oils-Energy peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Imperial Oil is one of 240 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #1 within 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 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. Imperial Oil is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IMO's full-year earnings has moved 83.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, IMO has gained about 48.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Oils-Energy group have gained about 28.9% on average. This means that Imperial Oil is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Oils-Energy stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Cenovus Energy (CVE). The stock has returned 71.5% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Cenovus Energy's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 89.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Imperial Oil belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - Canadian industry, a group that includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 54.9% so far this year, so IMO is slightly underperforming its industry in this area. Cenovus Energy is also part of the same industry.
Going forward, investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to Imperial Oil and Cenovus Energy as they could maintain their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).