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Has FirstEnergy (FE) Outpaced Other Utilities Stocks This Year?

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The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has FirstEnergy (FE - 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.

FirstEnergy is one of 123 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. FE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FE's full-year earnings has moved 0.50% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, FE has gained about 9.93% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 10.19% on average. This means that FirstEnergy is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

To break things down more, FE belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 64 individual companies and currently sits at #88 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 10.24% so far this year, meaning that FE is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

FE will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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