For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. E.ON SE (EONGY) 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.

E.ON SE is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 104 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 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. E.ON SE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EONGY's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that EONGY has returned about 16.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 1.2% on average. This means that E.ON SE is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Sabesp (SBS). The stock has returned 13.4% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Sabesp's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, E.ON SE is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #78 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.2% so far this year, so EONGY is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Sabesp belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry. This 12-stock industry is currently ranked #144. The industry has moved +9.2% year to date.

E.ON SE and Sabesp could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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E.ON SE (EONGY):Free Stock Analysis Report

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Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (SBS):Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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