The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Ameren (AEE) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Ameren is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 108 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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. Ameren is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEE's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that AEE has returned about 11.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 11% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Ameren is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Utilities sector, Iberdrola S.A. (IBDRY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 33.7%.
The consensus estimate for Iberdrola S.A.'s current year EPS has increased 10.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Ameren belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 59 individual stocks and currently sits at #76 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.3% so far this year, so AEE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Iberdrola S.A. is also part of the same industry.
Ameren and Iberdrola S.A. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report Iberdrola S.A. (IBDRY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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