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Has CenterPoint Energy (CNP) 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. Is CenterPoint Energy (CNP - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

CenterPoint Energy is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 108 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. CenterPoint Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNP's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, CNP has gained about 13.6% so far this year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 2%. As we can see, CenterPoint Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Otter Tail (OTTR - 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 4.8%.

For Otter Tail, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 33.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, CenterPoint Energy is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 61 individual companies and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 2.9% so far this year, so CNP is performing better in this area. Otter Tail is also part of the same industry.

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


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