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Is PPL (PPL) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?

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The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. PPL (PPL - Free Report) 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.

PPL is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 105 different companies and currently sits at #2 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. PPL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PPL's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, PPL has returned 18.5% so far this year. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 16.1%. As we can see, PPL is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Utilities sector, Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 27.3%.

The consensus estimate for Southern Co.'s current year EPS has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, PPL belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, a group that includes 60 individual stocks and currently sits at #56 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19.1% this year, meaning that PPL is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Southern Co. is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on PPL and Southern Co. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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