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Are Utilities Stocks Lagging CenterPoint Energy (CNP) This Year?

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Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. CenterPoint Energy (CNP - Free Report) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

CenterPoint Energy is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 105 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. CenterPoint Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNP's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, CNP has gained about 6.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 1.3% on average. This means that CenterPoint Energy is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is FirstEnergy (FE - Free Report) . The stock is up 5.3% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, FirstEnergy's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, CenterPoint Energy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 59 individual stocks and currently sits at #94 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 3.7% so far this year, so CNP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. FirstEnergy is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on CenterPoint Energy and FirstEnergy as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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