The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Entergy (ETR) 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? 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.

Entergy is one of 104 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in 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 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. Entergy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETR's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, ETR has returned 15.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 3.7% on average. This shows that Entergy is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY). The stock is up 21.2% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Deutsche Telekom AG's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Entergy is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #136 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4.5% so far this year, meaning that ETR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Deutsche Telekom AG, however, belongs to the Diversified Communication Services industry. Currently, this 14-stock industry is ranked #171. The industry has moved +4.4% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to Entergy and Deutsche Telekom AG as they could maintain their solid performance.

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

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