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Are Utilities Stocks Lagging CLP (CLPHY) This Year?

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Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is CLP Holdings Ltd. (CLPHY - 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.

CLP Holdings Ltd. 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 considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. CLP Holdings Ltd. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLPHY's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, CLPHY has moved about 12.3% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 0.5%. This means that CLP Holdings Ltd. is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Utilities sector, Energias de Portugal (EDPFY - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 19.6%.

Over the past three months, Energias de Portugal's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, CLP Holdings Ltd. belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 63 individual stocks and currently sits at #163 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.6% so far this year, so CLPHY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Energias de Portugal is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to CLP Holdings Ltd. and Energias de Portugal as they could maintain their solid performance.

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