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Is American States Water (AWR) Outperforming 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 American States Water (AWR - 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.

American States Water is one of 110 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. American States Water is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWR's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, AWR has moved about 8.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 7.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, American States Water is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Telefonica (TELFY - Free Report) . The stock is up 7.9% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Telefonica's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 20.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, American States Water is a member of the Utility - Water Supply industry, which includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #180 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 13.3% so far this year, so AWR is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

On the other hand, Telefonica belongs to the Diversified Communication Services industry. This 17-stock industry is currently ranked #96. The industry has moved +3.3% year to date.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on American States Water and Telefonica as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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