Is American Water Works (AWK) Outperforming Other Utilities Stocks This Year?

Company Overview - American Water Works (AWK) is one of 104 companies in the Utilities group, currently ranked 5 within the Zacks Sector Rank [2] - The company has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), indicating a favorable outlook based on earnings estimate revisions [3] Performance Analysis - Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWK's full-year earnings has increased by 0.3%, reflecting improving analyst sentiment [4] - AWK has returned 6.6% year-to-date, outperforming the average return of 4.6% for Utilities companies [4] - In comparison, AWK is slightly underperforming its industry, the Utility - Water Supply, which has gained an average of 6.7% so far this year [6] Industry Context - The Utility - Water Supply industry, which includes 12 stocks, is currently ranked 88 in the Zacks Industry Rank [6] - Another stock in the Utilities sector, NRG Energy (NRG), has shown a year-to-date return of 17.5% and has a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) [5][7] - The Utility - Electric Power industry, to which NRG belongs, is ranked 86 and has moved up by 4.5% this year [7]