Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Atmos Energy (ATO) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Utilities sector should help us answer this question.
Atmos Energy is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 108 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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 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. Atmos Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATO's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that ATO has returned about 18.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 13% on average. This means that Atmos Energy is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY). The stock has returned 22.3% year-to-date.
For Deutsche Telekom AG, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Atmos Energy is a member of the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.3% this year, meaning that ATO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Deutsche Telekom AG belongs to the Diversified Communication Services industry. This 19-stock industry is currently ranked #92. The industry has moved +23.4% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to Atmos Energy and Deutsche Telekom AG as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO): Free Stock Analysis Report Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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