For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Consolidated Water (CWCO) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
Consolidated Water is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 109 different companies and currently sits at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Consolidated Water is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CWCO's full-year earnings has moved 24.7% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, CWCO has gained about 31% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 16.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Consolidated Water is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Paranaense de Energia (ELP) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 63.4%.
Over the past three months, Paranaense de Energia's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Consolidated Water belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry, a group that includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #32 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18.3% so far this year, so CWCO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Paranaense de Energia belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry. This 59-stock industry is currently ranked #87. The industry has moved +16.4% year to date.
Consolidated Water and Paranaense de Energia could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO): Free Stock Analysis Report Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) (ELP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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