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Has American Water Works (AWK) 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 American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

American Water Works is one of 105 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #2 within 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. American Water Works is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWK's full-year earnings has moved 0% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, AWK has moved about 7.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 5.4% on average. This means that American Water Works is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Vistra Corp. (VST - Free Report) . The stock is up 105.5% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Vistra Corp.'s current year EPS has increased 39.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, American Water Works belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry, which includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.2% so far this year, so AWK is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Vistra Corp. falls under the Utility - Electric Power industry. Currently, this industry has 59 stocks and is ranked #75. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +7.5%.

American Water Works and Vistra Corp. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) - free report >>

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