Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Chunghwa (CHT - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Chunghwa is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 112 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. 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. Chunghwa is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHT's full-year earnings has moved 2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, CHT has moved about 17.1% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 2.3% on average. This shows that Chunghwa is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Exelon (EXC - Free Report) . The stock is up 6.7% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Exelon's current year EPS has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Chunghwa is a member of the Diversified Communication Services industry, which includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #186 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 11.2% this year, meaning that CHT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Exelon falls under the Utility - Electric Power industry. Currently, this industry has 63 stocks and is ranked #97. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +3.1%.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to Chunghwa and Exelon as they could maintain their solid performance.

Published in