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Has The Southern Company (SO) Outpaced Other Utilities Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Southern Co. is one of 108 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 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 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. Southern Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SO's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that SO has returned about 15.4% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 5.3%. This shows that Southern Co. is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sempra (SRE - Free Report) . The stock is up 27.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Sempra's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Southern Co. belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 61 individual stocks and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.2% so far this year, so SO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Sempra, however, belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #44. The industry has moved +16.2% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Utilities stocks should continue to track Southern Co. and Sempra. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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