Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Duke Energy (DUK) 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.
Duke Energy is one of 109 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #2 within 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. Duke Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK's full-year earnings has moved 0% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that DUK has returned about 18.6% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 18.4%. As we can see, Duke Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Exelon (EXC). The stock is up 25.9% year-to-date.
For Exelon, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Duke Energy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 59 individual stocks and currently sits at #48 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 19.8% so far this year, so DUK is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Exelon is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Duke Energy and Exelon as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report Exelon Corporation (EXC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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