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Are Utilities Stocks Lagging Consolidated Edison (ED) This Year?

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The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Consolidated Edison (ED - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Consolidated Edison is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 104 different companies and currently sits at #1 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 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. Consolidated Edison is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ED's full-year earnings has moved 1.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ED has returned about 2.3% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 0%. This means that Consolidated Edison is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

RWE AG (RWEOY - 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 2.6%.

Over the past three months, RWE AG's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 26.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Consolidated Edison is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 59 individual companies and currently sits at #61 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.7% so far this year, so ED is performing better in this area. RWE AG is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Consolidated Edison and RWE AG as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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