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Southern Co. (SO) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here's What You Need to Know

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Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $66.61, indicating a +0.24% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.43%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.32%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.43%.

Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 0.98% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector lost 10.6%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.55%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Southern Co. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on November 2, 2023. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.34, reflecting a 2.29% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $8.4 billion, indicating a 0.31% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $3.60 per share and a revenue of $27.77 billion, indicating changes of 0% and -5.17%, respectively, from the former 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. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. Right now, Southern Co. possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Southern Co. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 18.45. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 14.5 of its industry.

It is also worth noting that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.61. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Utility - Electric Power industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.69.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 61, finds itself in the top 25% echelons 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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