Yahoo Finance Are Utilities Stocks Lagging MDU Resources Group (MDU) This Year?
Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. MDU Resources (MDU) 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 Utilities sector should help us answer this question.
MDU Resources is one of 104 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 in 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. MDU Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MDU's full-year earnings has moved 4.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, MDU has gained about 17.3% so far this year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of -0.9%. This means that MDU Resources 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 NiSource (NI). The stock has returned 2.3% year-to-date.
For NiSource, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, MDU Resources belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #178 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 2.9% so far this year, so MDU is performing better in this area.
In contrast, NiSource falls under the Utility - Electric Power industry. Currently, this industry has 58 stocks and is ranked #152. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +0.2%.
Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to MDU Resources and NiSource as they could maintain their solid performance.
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MDU Resources Group, Inc. (MDU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NiSource, Inc (NI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
