For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Atlantic Power been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Atlantic Power is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 123 different companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. AT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AT's full-year earnings has moved 118.18% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, AT has moved about 8.29% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 15.47%. As we can see, Atlantic Power is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

To break things down more, AT belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 64 individual companies and currently sits at #160 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 17.52% so far this year, so AT is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

AT will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.