For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Artesian Resources (ARTNA) 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.

Artesian Resources is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 106 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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. Artesian Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARTNA's full-year earnings has moved 8% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ARTNA has gained about 8.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 7.2% on average. As we can see, Artesian Resources is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is ENGIE - Sponsored ADR (ENGIY). The stock is up 38.3% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for ENGIE - Sponsored ADR's current year EPS has increased 17.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Artesian Resources belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry, a group that includes 12 individual companies and currently sits at #139 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.7% so far this year, so ARTNA is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, ENGIE - Sponsored ADR falls under the Utility - Electric Power industry. Currently, this industry has 60 stocks and is ranked #68. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +7.1%.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Artesian Resources and ENGIE - Sponsored ADR as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

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