The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Nextracker (NXT) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Oils-Energy peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Nextracker is one of 247 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #11 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 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. Nextracker is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NXT's full-year earnings has moved 11.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that NXT has returned about 3.3% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Oils-Energy companies have returned an average of -12.7%. This shows that Nextracker is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Oils-Energy sector, Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 1.8%.

The consensus estimate for Williams Companies, Inc. (The)'s current year EPS has increased 5.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Nextracker belongs to the Solar industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #143 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 28.4% so far this year, so NXT is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Williams Companies, Inc. (The) falls under the Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry. Currently, this industry has 10 stocks and is ranked #89. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -2.1%.

Nextracker and Williams Companies, Inc. (The) could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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

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