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

Southern is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 122 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. SO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SO's full-year earnings has moved 0.09% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, SO has returned 24.86% so far this year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 13.98%. This means that Southern is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, SO belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 64 individual stocks and currently sits at #102 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 15.32% this year, meaning that SO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to SO as it looks to continue its solid performance.