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Southern Co. (SO) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $68.12 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.69% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.76%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.17%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 3.03%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 1.32% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's loss of 1.62% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.94% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Southern Co. to post earnings of $0.79 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 18.56%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.88 billion, up 3.46% from the prior-year quarter.
SO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.62 per share and revenue of $29.27 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +0.56% and -0.04%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.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.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 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. currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 18.7. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.15.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.67. 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. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.92 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 145, which puts it in the bottom 43% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Southern Co. (SO) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $68.12 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.69% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.76%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.17%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 3.03%.
Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 1.32% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's loss of 1.62% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.94% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Southern Co. as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Southern Co. to post earnings of $0.79 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 18.56%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.88 billion, up 3.46% from the prior-year quarter.
SO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.62 per share and revenue of $29.27 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +0.56% and -0.04%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co.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.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 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. currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 18.7. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.15.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.67. 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. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.92 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 145, which puts it in the bottom 43% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.