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Southern Co. (SO) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $69.63, marking a +0.96% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.58%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.59%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.54%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 5.73% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's gain of 2.88% and the S&P 500's gain of 2% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.77, down 20.62% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.78 billion, up 2.06% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.61 per share and revenue of $28.77 billion, which would represent changes of +0.28% and -1.75%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. should also be noted by investors. 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 0.28% lower. Southern Co. currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.11. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.32, which means Southern Co. is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that SO has a PEG ratio of 4.78 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. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.92 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 154, putting it in the bottom 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $69.63, marking a +0.96% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.58%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.59%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.54%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 5.73% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's gain of 2.88% and the S&P 500's gain of 2% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.77, down 20.62% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.78 billion, up 2.06% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.61 per share and revenue of $28.77 billion, which would represent changes of +0.28% and -1.75%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. should also be noted by investors. 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 0.28% lower. Southern Co. currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.11. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.32, which means Southern Co. is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that SO has a PEG ratio of 4.78 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. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.92 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 154, putting it in the bottom 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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.