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Investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Imperial Oil (IMO) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Oils-Energy sector should help us answer this question.
Imperial Oil is one of 247 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. Imperial Oil is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IMO's full-year earnings has moved 15.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, IMO has gained about 6.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of -1.8% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Imperial Oil is outperforming its peers so far this year.
NextDecade (NEXT) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 0.7%.
The consensus estimate for NextDecade's current year EPS has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Imperial Oil belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - Canadian industry, a group that includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #88 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 8.3% so far this year, so IMO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
NextDecade, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Production Pipeline - MLB industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #4. The industry has moved -0.9% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Oils-Energy sector may want to keep a close eye on Imperial Oil and NextDecade as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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