Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has SJW (SJW) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

SJW is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 106 different companies and currently sits at #1 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. SJW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SJW's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, SJW has returned 12.5% so far this year. At the same time, Utilities stocks have gained an average of 4.4%. As we can see, SJW is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is United Utilities Group PLC (UUGRY). The stock has returned 7.5% year-to-date.

In United Utilities Group PLC's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 24.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, SJW belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #85 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 17.3% so far this year, so SJW is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

United Utilities Group PLC, however, belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry. Currently, this 60-stock industry is ranked #50. The industry has moved +5.2% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Utilities stocks should continue to track SJW and United Utilities Group PLC. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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

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