The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Consolidated Water (CWCO) 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? 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.

Consolidated Water is one of 104 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #8 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 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. Consolidated Water is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CWCO's full-year earnings has moved 0.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, CWCO has gained about 6.4% so far this year. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 4.4%. This shows that Consolidated Water is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Enel Chile (ENIC) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 19.8%.

For Enel Chile, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 47.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Consolidated Water belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry, a group that includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.5% so far this year, meaning that CWCO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Enel Chile belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry. This 60-stock industry is currently ranked #129. The industry has moved +5% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to Consolidated Water and Enel Chile as they could maintain their solid performance.

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Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO):Free Stock Analysis Report

Enel Chile S.A. (ENIC):Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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