For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG) 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 Oils-Energy sector should help us answer this question.

Constellation Energy Corporation is a member of our Oils-Energy group, which includes 247 different companies and currently sits at #4 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. Constellation Energy Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CEG's full-year earnings has moved 3.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, CEG has gained about 11.6% so far this year. At the same time, Oils-Energy stocks have gained an average of 1.1%. As we can see, Constellation Energy Corporation is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Oils-Energy stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Antero Resources (AR). The stock has returned 1.5% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Antero Resources' current year EPS has increased 45.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Constellation Energy Corporation belongs to the Alternative Energy - Other industry, a group that includes 47 individual stocks and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 3.3% so far this year, so CEG is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Antero Resources falls under the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry. Currently, this industry has 34 stocks and is ranked #35. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -18.4%.

Investors interested in the Oils-Energy sector may want to keep a close eye on Constellation Energy Corporation and Antero Resources as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

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