Has Centrais Eltricas Brasileiras (EBR) Outpaced Other Utilities Stocks This Year?
Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Eletrobras (EBR) 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.
Eletrobras is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 108 different companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Eletrobras is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EBR's full-year earnings has moved 6.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that EBR has returned about 51.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 3.5% on average. As we can see, Eletrobras is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Utilities sector, RWE AG (RWEOY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 10.2%.
In RWE AG's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 11.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Eletrobras belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 61 individual companies and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.1% so far this year, so EBR is performing better in this area. RWE AG is also part of the same industry.
Investors with an interest in Utilities stocks should continue to track Eletrobras and RWE AG. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Centrais Eltricas Brasileiras SA (EBR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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