Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Entergy (ETR) 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.
Entergy is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 109 different companies and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Entergy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETR's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, ETR has gained about 24.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 22.7% on average. As we can see, Entergy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Utilities sector, Lumen (LUMN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 43.5%.
The consensus estimate for Lumen's current year EPS has increased 9.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Entergy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 59 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 27.4% this year, meaning that ETR is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
Lumen, however, belongs to the Diversified Communication Services industry. Currently, this 19-stock industry is ranked #172. The industry has moved +16% so far this year.
Entergy and Lumen could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Entergy Corporation (ETR): Free Stock Analysis Report Lumen Technologies, Inc. (LUMN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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