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Has APA (APA) Outpaced Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has APA (APA - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Oils-Energy sector should help us answer this question.

APA is one of 257 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. APA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APA's full-year earnings has moved 70.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that APA has returned about 51.4% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Oils-Energy companies have returned an average of 25.1%. This means that APA is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Oils-Energy sector, Baytex Energy , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 66%.

For Baytex Energy, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 32.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, APA belongs to the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry, a group that includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 36.3% so far this year, meaning that APA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Baytex Energy, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - Canadian industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #20. The industry has moved +49.4% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to APA and Baytex Energy as they could maintain their solid performance.


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