Is American Electric Power (AEP) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?
For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. American Electric Power (AEP) 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? 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.
American Electric Power is one of 105 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #2 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. American Electric Power 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 0.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, AEP has moved about 21% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 16% on average. As we can see, American Electric Power is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Duke Energy (DUK) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 17.7%.
In Duke Energy's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, American Electric Power belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #48 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19% this year, meaning that AEP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Duke Energy is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on American Electric Power and Duke Energy as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) : Free Stock Analysis Report