News

The latest trading session saw Southern Co. (SO) ending at $79.99, denoting a +0.16% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.55%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.62%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.63%.

The power company's stock has climbed by 1.49% in the past month, exceeding the Utilities sector's loss of 1.54% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 4.28%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Southern Co. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on August 1, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.90, signifying a 13.92% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.26 billion, up 8.88% from the year-ago period.

SO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4 per share and revenue of $26.7 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.59% and +5.73%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.1% higher. Southern Co. currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Southern Co. is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.98. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 15.81 of its industry.

We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.87. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Utility - Electric Power industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.58.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 97, placing it within the top 39% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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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