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Is Iberdrola (IBDRY) 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 Iberdrola S.A. (IBDRY - 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.

Iberdrola S.A. is one of 111 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #14 within 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 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. Iberdrola S.A. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IBDRY's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, IBDRY has returned 8.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 0.6% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Iberdrola S.A. is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is MYR Group (MYRG - Free Report) . The stock is up 42.3% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, MYR Group's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Iberdrola S.A. belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 63 individual stocks and currently sits at #151 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1% so far this year, so IBDRY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, MYR Group belongs to the Electric Construction industry. This 2-stock industry is currently ranked #11. The industry has moved -72.6% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Utilities stocks should continue to track Iberdrola S.A. and MYR Group. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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