Are Utilities Stocks Lagging IDACORP (IDA) This Year?

Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. IdaCorp (IDA) 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.

IdaCorp is one of 111 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #15 within 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. IdaCorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IDA's full-year earnings has moved 0% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that IDA has returned about 17% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 7.2%. As we can see, IdaCorp is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is OGE Energy (OGE). The stock has returned 15.4% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for OGE Energy's current year EPS has increased 0.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, IdaCorp is a member of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 63 individual companies and currently sits at #169 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 8.8% so far this year, so IDA is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. OGE Energy is also part of the same industry.

IdaCorp and OGE Energy could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

IDACORP, Inc. (IDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

OGE Energy Corporation (OGE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

Zacks Investment Research

View Comments