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Southern Co. (SO) Stock Moves -0.84%: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $67.43, marking a -0.84% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.3%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.77%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 5.51%.

Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 4.78% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector lost 1.32%, while the S&P 500 gained 6.41%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 16, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Southern Co. to post earnings of $0.24 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 33.33%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.08 billion, up 5.38% from the year-ago period.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.21% lower. Southern Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Southern Co. is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.46. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.31, which means Southern Co. is trading at a premium to the group.

Also, we should mention that SO has a PEG ratio of 4.62. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Utility - Electric Power industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.2 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, putting it in the top 33% 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.

To follow SO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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