For those looking to find strong Utilities stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has American Water Works (AWK) 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.

American Water Works is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 104 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. American Water Works is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWK's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AWK has moved about 14.5% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Utilities companies have returned an average of 2.4%. As we can see, American Water Works is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Southwest Gas (SWX). The stock has returned 3.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Southwest Gas' current year EPS has increased 0.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, American Water Works belongs to the Utility - Water Supply industry, a group that includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #198 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 11.9% so far this year, so AWK is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Southwest Gas falls under the Utility - Gas Distribution industry. Currently, this industry has 13 stocks and is ranked #71. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -9.4%.

Going forward, investors interested in Utilities stocks should continue to pay close attention to American Water Works and Southwest Gas as they could maintain their solid performance.

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American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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