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Is NewJersey Resources (NJR) Outperforming Other Utilities Stocks This Year?

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The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. New Jersey Resources (NJR - 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.

New Jersey Resources is one of 104 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. New Jersey Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NJR's full-year earnings has moved 3.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that NJR has returned about 3.5% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 2.5%. This shows that New Jersey Resources is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is OGE Energy (OGE - Free Report) . The stock has returned 8.2% year-to-date.

For OGE Energy, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, New Jersey Resources belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, a group that includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #27 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 5.8% so far this year, meaning that NJR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, OGE Energy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry. This 60-stock industry is currently ranked #82. The industry has moved +2.7% year to date.

New Jersey Resources and OGE Energy could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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