The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has American Electric Power Company (AEP Quick QuoteAEP - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

American Electric Power Company is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 125 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 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. AEP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEP's full-year earnings has moved 1.61% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, AEP has gained about 3.48% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 0.60% on a year-to-date basis. This means that American Electric Power Company is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, AEP is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #94 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.40% this year, meaning that AEP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to AEP as it looks to continue its solid performance.