For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Clearway Energy (CWENA) 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.

Clearway Energy is one of 247 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Clearway Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CWENA's full-year earnings has moved 1.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, CWENA has gained about 5.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 1.7% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Clearway Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Drilling Tools International Corp. (DTI). The stock is up 1.8% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Drilling Tools International Corp.'s current year EPS has increased 6.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Clearway Energy belongs to the Alternative Energy - Other industry, which includes 47 individual stocks and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.6% so far this year, so CWENA is performing better in this area.

Drilling Tools International Corp. however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Field Services industry. Currently, this 22-stock industry is ranked #172. The industry has moved +2.4% so far this year.

Clearway Energy and Drilling Tools International Corp. 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).

Zacks Investment Research