The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has American Electric Power (AEP) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
American Electric Power is one of 111 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. American Electric Power is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEP's full-year earnings has moved 0.6% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, AEP has moved about 10.3% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have lost about 1.1% on average. This means that American Electric Power is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Chunghwa (CHT). The stock is up 14.1% year-to-date.
In Chunghwa's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, American Electric Power belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 63 individual stocks and currently sits at #101 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.8% so far this year, so AEP is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Chunghwa falls under the Diversified Communication Services industry. Currently, this industry has 18 stocks and is ranked #184. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -12.4%.
Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to American Electric Power and Chunghwa as they could maintain their solid performance.
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American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP): Free Stock Analysis Report
Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (CHT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).