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Is Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Duke Energy is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 112 different companies and currently sits at #7 in 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 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 three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, DUK has moved about 13.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 9.9% on average. This shows that Duke Energy is outperforming its peers so far this year.

MYR Group (MYRG - Free Report) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 76.4%.

The consensus estimate for MYR Group's current year EPS has increased 9.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Duke Energy is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 62 individual companies and currently sits at #108 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.6% this year, meaning that DUK is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

MYR Group, however, belongs to the Electric Construction industry. Currently, this 2-stock industry is ranked #8. The industry has moved +76.4% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to Duke Energy and MYR Group as they could maintain their solid performance.


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