Has Atmos Energy (ATO) Outpaced Other Utilities Stocks This Year?

The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Atmos Energy (ATO) 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.

Atmos Energy is one of 106 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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. Atmos Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATO's full-year earnings has moved 0.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, ATO has moved about 11.1% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 8%. This shows that Atmos Energy is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is CenterPoint Energy (CNP). The stock has returned 17.4% year-to-date.

For CenterPoint Energy, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Atmos Energy belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, a group that includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.4% so far this year, so ATO is performing better in this area.

In contrast, CenterPoint Energy falls under the Utility - Electric Power industry. Currently, this industry has 60 stocks and is ranked #70. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +8.2%.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Atmos Energy and CenterPoint Energy as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research