Is Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) Outperforming Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?
For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) 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.
Canadian Natural Resources is one of 253 individual stocks in the Oils-Energy sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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 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. Canadian Natural Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNQ's full-year earnings has moved 12.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, CNQ has moved about 74% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Oils-Energy group have gained about 33.1% on average. This shows that Canadian Natural Resources is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 128.2%.
Over the past three months, Goodrich Petroleum's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Canadian Natural Resources is a member of the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - Canadian industry, which includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #187 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 80.6% so far this year, so CNQ is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Goodrich Petroleum belongs to the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry. This 43-stock industry is currently ranked #112. The industry has moved +106.6% year to date.
Canadian Natural Resources and Goodrich Petroleum could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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