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Southern Co. (SO) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $72.51, marking a +0.85% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.75%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 10.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 4.99% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's loss of 1.01% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.98% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.24, down 33.33% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.05 billion, up 4.98% from the prior-year quarter.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.62% lower. Southern Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.28. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.73, so we one might conclude that Southern Co. is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that SO has a PEG ratio of 4.82 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.15 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Southern Co. (SO) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $72.51, marking a +0.85% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.75%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 10.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 4.99% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's loss of 1.01% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.98% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.24, down 33.33% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.05 billion, up 4.98% from the prior-year quarter.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.62% lower. Southern Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.28. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.73, so we one might conclude that Southern Co. is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that SO has a PEG ratio of 4.82 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.15 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.