Is Telecom Italia (TIIAY) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Telecom Italia (TIIAY) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Telecom Italia is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 108 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Telecom Italia is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for TIIAY's full-year earnings has moved 400% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, TIIAY has returned 82.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 11.2% on average. This means that Telecom Italia is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Grupo Televisa (TV) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 67.3%.

Over the past three months, Grupo Televisa's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 147.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Telecom Italia belongs to the Diversified Communication Services industry, a group that includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 16.1% so far this year, meaning that TIIAY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Grupo Televisa is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Utilities stocks should continue to track Telecom Italia and Grupo Televisa. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research