The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Energias de Portugal (EDPFY) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Energias de Portugal is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 106 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Energias de Portugal is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EDPFY's full-year earnings has moved 11.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, EDPFY has moved about 3.3% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 0.9%. As we can see, Energias de Portugal is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sabesp (SBS). The stock is up 23.2% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Sabesp's current year EPS has increased 14.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Energias de Portugal belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 60 individual stocks and currently sits at #56 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 1.9% so far this year, meaning that EDPFY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Sabesp falls under the Utility - Water Supply industry. Currently, this industry has 12 stocks and is ranked #145. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +12.3%.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Energias de Portugal and Sabesp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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Energias de Portugal (EDPFY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (SBS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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