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Southern Company (SO) Queued for Q2 Earnings: Things to Note
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The Southern Company (SO - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2021 results before the opening bell on Jul 29. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is a profit of 79 cents per share on revenues of $5 billion.
Let’s delve into the factors that might have influenced the power supplier’s performance in the June quarter. But it’s worth taking a look at Southern Company’s previous-quarter performance first.
Highlights of Q1 Earnings & Surprise History
In the last-reported quarter, the Atlanta, GA-based service provider beat the consensus mark on favorable weather impact as well as the positive effects of rates, usage and pricing changes. Southern Company had reported adjusted earnings per share of 98 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents. Revenues of $5.9 billion generated by this firm had come in above the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.55%.
As far as earnings surprises are concerned, Southern Company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and missed in the other, delivering an earnings surprise of 10.29%, on average. This is depicted in the graph below:
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second-quarter bottom line has been revised 1.3% upward in the last seven days. The estimated figure indicates a 1.3% improvement year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues, meanwhile, suggests an 8.1% decline from the year-ago period.
Factors to Consider This Quarter
Southern Company's seven major regulated utilities serve approximately nine million electric and natural gas customers. Leveraging the demographics of its operating territories, the firm has been successfully expanding its regulated business customer base. As proof of that effort, Southern Company increased its customer count by 1.1% year over year for the period ending March 2021. This trend most likely continued in the second quarter of 2021 because of healthy population growth across its electric and gas franchises.
On a somewhat bearish note though, the power supplier’s total operating cost in the first quarter increased 14.8% year over year to $4.3 billion. The upward cost trajectory is likely to have continued in the second quarter due to escalation in the Vogtle nuclear project-related outlays, primarily stemming from quality issues.
What Does Our Model Say?
The proven Zacks model does not conclusively show that Southern Company is likely to beat estimates in the second quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of beating estimates. But that’s not the case here.
You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: Southern Company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 79 cents per share each.
Zacks Rank: Southern Company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the utility’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult for the company this earnings season.
Stocks to Consider
While an earnings beat looks uncertain for Southern Company, here are some firms from the utility space that you may want to consider on the basis of our model:
MYR Group Inc. (MYRG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +4.39% and a Zacks Rank #1. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Jul 28.
Image: Bigstock
Southern Company (SO) Queued for Q2 Earnings: Things to Note
The Southern Company (SO - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2021 results before the opening bell on Jul 29. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is a profit of 79 cents per share on revenues of $5 billion.
Let’s delve into the factors that might have influenced the power supplier’s performance in the June quarter. But it’s worth taking a look at Southern Company’s previous-quarter performance first.
Highlights of Q1 Earnings & Surprise History
In the last-reported quarter, the Atlanta, GA-based service provider beat the consensus mark on favorable weather impact as well as the positive effects of rates, usage and pricing changes. Southern Company had reported adjusted earnings per share of 98 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents. Revenues of $5.9 billion generated by this firm had come in above the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.55%.
As far as earnings surprises are concerned, Southern Company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and missed in the other, delivering an earnings surprise of 10.29%, on average. This is depicted in the graph below:
Southern Company The Price and EPS Surprise
Southern Company The price-eps-surprise | Southern Company The Quote
Trend in Estimate Revision
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second-quarter bottom line has been revised 1.3% upward in the last seven days. The estimated figure indicates a 1.3% improvement year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues, meanwhile, suggests an 8.1% decline from the year-ago period.
Factors to Consider This Quarter
Southern Company's seven major regulated utilities serve approximately nine million electric and natural gas customers. Leveraging the demographics of its operating territories, the firm has been successfully expanding its regulated business customer base. As proof of that effort, Southern Company increased its customer count by 1.1% year over year for the period ending March 2021. This trend most likely continued in the second quarter of 2021 because of healthy population growth across its electric and gas franchises.
On a somewhat bearish note though, the power supplier’s total operating cost in the first quarter increased 14.8% year over year to $4.3 billion. The upward cost trajectory is likely to have continued in the second quarter due to escalation in the Vogtle nuclear project-related outlays, primarily stemming from quality issues.
What Does Our Model Say?
The proven Zacks model does not conclusively show that Southern Company is likely to beat estimates in the second quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of beating estimates. But that’s not the case here.
You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: Southern Company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 79 cents per share each.
Zacks Rank: Southern Company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the utility’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult for the company this earnings season.
Stocks to Consider
While an earnings beat looks uncertain for Southern Company, here are some firms from the utility space that you may want to consider on the basis of our model:
MYR Group Inc. (MYRG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +4.39% and a Zacks Rank #1. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Jul 28.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Duke Energy Corporation (DUK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.15% and a Zacks Rank #2. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Aug 5.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.68% and is Zacks #3 Ranked. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Aug 5.