The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is NRG Energy (NRG) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.

NRG Energy is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 104 different companies and currently sits at #9 in 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. NRG Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NRG's full-year earnings has moved 11.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that NRG has returned about 0.6% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Utilities stocks have lost an average of 8.8%. This means that NRG Energy is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Utilities stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Telecom Argentina (TEO). The stock has returned 5.5% year-to-date.

In Telecom Argentina's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 280% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, NRG Energy belongs to the Utility - Electric Power industry, which includes 58 individual stocks and currently sits at #102 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 12.1% this year, meaning that NRG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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