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

NextEra Energy is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 105 different companies and currently sits at #6 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 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. NextEra Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEE's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, NEE has moved about 30.5% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 16.6%. This means that NextEra Energy is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

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 32.4%.

The consensus estimate for NiSource's current year EPS has increased 0.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, NextEra Energy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #94 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19.9% this year, meaning that NEE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. NiSource is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to NextEra Energy and NiSource as they could maintain their solid performance.

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