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Has Southwest Gas (SWX) Outpaced Other Utilities Stocks 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. Has Southwest Gas (SWX - Free Report) 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.

Southwest Gas is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 108 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. 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. Southwest Gas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SWX's full-year earnings has moved 6.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, SWX has moved about 26.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 1.6% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Southwest Gas is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Telefonica (TEF - 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 15.6%.

Over the past three months, Telefonica's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 32%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Southwest Gas belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #92 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12% this year, meaning that SWX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Telefonica belongs to the Diversified Communication Services industry. This 14-stock industry is currently ranked #195. The industry has moved +8.7% year to date.

Southwest Gas and Telefonica could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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