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Are Utilities Stocks Lagging ENGIE - Sponsored ADR (ENGIY) 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 ENGIE - Sponsored ADR (ENGIY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.

ENGIE - Sponsored ADR is one of 110 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #12 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 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. ENGIE - Sponsored ADR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ENGIY's full-year earnings has moved 9.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that ENGIY has returned about 17.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 3.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that ENGIE - Sponsored ADR is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Iberdrola S.A. (IBDRY - 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 5.6%.

The consensus estimate for Iberdrola S.A.'s current year EPS has increased 0.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, ENGIE - Sponsored ADR is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #165 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 3.7% so far this year, so ENGIY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Iberdrola S.A. is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to ENGIE - Sponsored ADR and Iberdrola S.A. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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