For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Chesapeake Utilities is one of 106 companies in the Utilities group. The Utilities group currently sits at #1 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 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. Chesapeake Utilities is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPK's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, CPK has gained about 8.9% so far this year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 5.2%. This means that Chesapeake Utilities is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Energias de Portugal (EDPFY). The stock has returned 19.4% year-to-date.

For Energias de Portugal, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Chesapeake Utilities belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 2.4% this year, meaning that CPK is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Energias de Portugal belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry. This 60-stock industry is currently ranked #40. The industry has moved +5.8% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to Chesapeake Utilities and Energias de Portugal as they could maintain their solid performance.

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Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK):Free Stock Analysis Report

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Energias de Portugal (EDPFY):Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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