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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 the most recent trading day at $72.61, moving -0.47% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.61%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had gained 1.7% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector gained 2.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.86%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 3, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.73, down 31.78% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.91 billion, down 4.17% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.60 per share and revenue of $28.68 billion. These totals would mark changes of 0% and -2.04%, respectively, from last 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. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.32% lower. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Southern Co.'s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.29. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 5.07. 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 3.08 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 93, putting it in the top 37% 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.
To follow SO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Southern Co. (SO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $72.61, moving -0.47% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.61%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had gained 1.7% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector gained 2.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.86%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 3, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.73, down 31.78% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.91 billion, down 4.17% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.60 per share and revenue of $28.68 billion. These totals would mark changes of 0% and -2.04%, respectively, from last 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. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.32% lower. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Southern Co.'s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.29. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 5.07. 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 3.08 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 93, putting it in the top 37% 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.
To follow SO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.