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Is Atlantic Power (AT) Outperforming Other Utilities Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Atlantic Power one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Atlantic Power is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 123 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. AT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AT's full-year earnings has moved 118.18% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AT has returned about 4.15% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Utilities sector has returned an average of 10.85% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Atlantic Power is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, AT belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 64 individual stocks and currently sits at #148 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 12.66% so far this year, meaning that AT is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

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

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