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Is SM Energy (SM) Outperforming Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?

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The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is SM Energy (SM - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

SM Energy is one of 248 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #13 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 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. SM Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SM's full-year earnings has moved 15.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that SM has returned about 22.7% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Oils-Energy stocks have gained an average of 3.2%. As we can see, SM Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Newpark Resources (NR - Free Report) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 18.7%.

The consensus estimate for Newpark Resources' current year EPS has increased 21.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, SM Energy is a member of the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry, which includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #65 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 2% so far this year, meaning that SM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Newpark Resources, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Field Services industry. Currently, this 24-stock industry is ranked #161. The industry has moved -6.1% so far this year.

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


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