Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Southern (SO Quick QuoteSO - 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.

Southern is one of 122 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. SO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SO's full-year earnings has moved 0.29% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, SO has gained about 0.96% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have lost about 0.84% on average. As we can see, Southern is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

To break things down more, SO belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 65 individual companies and currently sits at #106 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 1.11% so far this year, meaning that SO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Utilities sector will want to keep a close eye on SO as it attempts to continue its solid performance.