Yahoo Finance Are Utilities Stocks Lagging Atmos Energy (ATO) 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. Is Atmos Energy (ATO) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Utilities sector should help us answer this question.
Atmos Energy is one of 103 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #1 within 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. Atmos Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATO's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, ATO has moved about 6.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 0.3% on average. As we can see, Atmos Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Utilities sector, Centrica PLC (CPYYY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 5.3%.
In Centrica PLC's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 40.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Atmos Energy belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, a group that includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #75 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.2% this year, meaning that ATO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Centrica PLC is also part of the same industry.
Atmos Energy and Centrica PLC could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Centrica PLC (CPYYY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
