Is Natural Gas Services Group (NGS) Outperforming Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?
Investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Natural Gas Services (NGS) 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.
Natural Gas Services is one of 252 individual stocks in the Oils-Energy sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 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. Natural Gas Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NGS’ full-year earnings has moved 3.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, NGS has returned 21.6% so far this year. In comparison, Oils-Energy companies have returned an average of 17%. This shows that Natural Gas Services is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Oils-Energy stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Petrobras (PBR). The stock has returned 34.9% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Petrobras’ current year EPS has increased 41.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Natural Gas Services belongs to the Oil and Gas – Mechanical and and Equipment industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #201 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 29.2% so far this year, meaning that NGS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Petrobras falls under the Oil and Gas – Integrated – International industry. Currently, this industry has 17 stocks and is ranked #162. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +11.8%.
Investors interested in the Oils-Energy sector may want to keep a close eye on Natural Gas Services and Petrobras as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NGS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (PBR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).