The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Centrica PLC (CPYYY) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Centrica PLC is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 106 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. Centrica PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPYYY's full-year earnings has moved 2.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, CPYYY has moved about 25% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 9.3%. This means that Centrica PLC is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Utilities sector, Tele2 (TLTZY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 46.5%.

For Tele2, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 21.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Centrica PLC belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, a group that includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #32 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.2% so far this year, so CPYYY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Tele2, however, belongs to the Wireline Non-US industry. Currently, this 3-stock industry is ranked #2. The industry has moved -11.2% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on Centrica PLC and Tele2 as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

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