Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. NextEra Energy (NEE) 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.
NextEra Energy is one of 111 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #14 within 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. NextEra Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEE's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, NEE has moved about 10.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 6.5% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, NextEra Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Utilities sector, NiSource (NI), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 10.1%.
The consensus estimate for NiSource's current year EPS has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, NextEra Energy is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 63 individual companies and currently sits at #155 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7.7% so far this year, so NEE is performing better in this area. NiSource is also part of the same industry.
NextEra Energy and NiSource could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).