Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Chesapeake Utilities is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 106 different companies and currently sits at #3 in 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 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. Chesapeake Utilities is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

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

Our latest available data shows that CPK has returned about 4.5% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 1.4%. This means that Chesapeake Utilities is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

NiSource (NI) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 3.8%.

The consensus estimate for NiSource's current year EPS has increased 1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Chesapeake Utilities is a member of the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #88 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 8.7% this year, meaning that CPK is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, NiSource belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry. This 60-stock industry is currently ranked #65. The industry has moved +2.3% year to date.

Chesapeake Utilities and NiSource could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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