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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. Is Duke Energy (DUK - 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.

Duke Energy is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 110 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, DUK has gained about 11.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 9.8% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Duke Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Sabesp (SBS - 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 26.6%.

For Sabesp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Duke Energy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 10.6% so far this year, so DUK is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Sabesp belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry. This 11-stock industry is currently ranked #95. The industry has moved +10.6% year to date.

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

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