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Southern Co. (SO) Stock Moves -0.28%: What You Should Know
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Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $64.55 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.28% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.85%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.66%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 10.91%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 2.59% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector gained 0.65%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.85%.
Southern Co. will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.79, down 18.56% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.88 billion, up 3.46% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.62 per share and revenue of $29.27 billion. These totals would mark changes of +0.56% and -0.04%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1% lower. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Southern Co. has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.89 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.86.
Meanwhile, SO's PEG ratio is currently 4.47. 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. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.89 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 148, putting it in the bottom 42% 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.
To follow SO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Southern Co. (SO) Stock Moves -0.28%: What You Should Know
Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $64.55 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.28% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.85%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.66%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 10.91%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 2.59% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector gained 0.65%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.85%.
Southern Co. will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.79, down 18.56% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.88 billion, up 3.46% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.62 per share and revenue of $29.27 billion. These totals would mark changes of +0.56% and -0.04%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1% lower. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Southern Co. has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.89 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.86.
Meanwhile, SO's PEG ratio is currently 4.47. 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. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.89 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 148, putting it in the bottom 42% 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.
To follow SO in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.