Southern Co. (SO) ended the recent trading session at $86.27, demonstrating a -1.43% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.34%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.94%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.16%.
The power company's stock has climbed by 2.37% in the past month, exceeding the Utilities sector's loss of 3.09% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.19%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Southern Co. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect Southern Co. to post earnings of $0.58 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 16%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $6.97 billion, indicating a 9.95% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.29 per share and a revenue of $29.13 billion, representing changes of +5.93% and 0%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Southern Co. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.06% downward. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Southern Co. is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.08. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.07, which means Southern Co. is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that SO has a PEG ratio of 2.64. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Utility - Electric Power industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.51.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 64, putting it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Southern Company (The) (SO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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