The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Eletrobras (EBR) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Eletrobras is one of 108 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Eletrobras is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EBR's full-year earnings has moved 12.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that EBR has returned about 67% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 12.4%. As we can see, Eletrobras is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Utilities sector, MYR Group (MYRG), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 20.2%.
For MYR Group, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Eletrobras belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 59 individual companies and currently sits at #58 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 12.1% so far this year, so EBR is performing better in this area.
In contrast, MYR Group falls under the Electric Construction industry. Currently, this industry has 1 stocks and is ranked #5. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +20.2%.
Eletrobras and MYR Group could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Centrais El?tricas Brasileiras SA (EBR): Free Stock Analysis Report MYR Group, Inc. (MYRG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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