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Southern Co. (SO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
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Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $70.84 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.59% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.93%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.71%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 2.85% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector lost 2.8%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.61%.
Southern Co. will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Southern Co. is projected to report earnings of $0.83 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 22.43%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $7.09 billion, down 1.61% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.61 per share and revenue of $28.74 billion, which would represent changes of +0.28% and -1.82%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.14% lower within the past month. 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 19.76. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.87.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.94. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.83 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 64, which puts it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Southern Co. (SO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $70.84 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.59% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.93%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.71%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 2.85% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector lost 2.8%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.61%.
Southern Co. will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Southern Co. is projected to report earnings of $0.83 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 22.43%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $7.09 billion, down 1.61% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.61 per share and revenue of $28.74 billion, which would represent changes of +0.28% and -1.82%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.14% lower within the past month. 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 19.76. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.87.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.94. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.83 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 64, which puts it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.