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Is National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) Stock Outpacing Its Utilities Peers This Year?

Zacks Equity Research
·2-min read

For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is National Fuel Gas (NFG) 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.

National Fuel Gas is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 104 different companies and currently sits at #7 in 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. National Fuel Gas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NFG's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

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Based on the most recent data, NFG has returned 2.1% so far this year. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of -4.3%. This means that National Fuel Gas is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

New Jersey Resources (NJR) is another Utilities stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 12%.

For New Jersey Resources, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, National Fuel Gas belongs to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry, a group that includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #83 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.3% this year, meaning that NFG is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. New Jersey Resources is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Utilities sector may want to keep a close eye on National Fuel Gas and New Jersey Resources as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Zacks Investment Research