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Is Ameren (AEE) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Ameren (AEE - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Ameren is one of 105 individual stocks in the Utilities sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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. Ameren is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEE's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, AEE has returned 19.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Utilities group have gained about 15.9% on average. As we can see, Ameren is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) . The stock is up 17.5% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Duke Energy's current year EPS has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Ameren is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18.9% so far this year, so AEE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Duke Energy is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Ameren and Duke Energy as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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