Southern Co. (SO) closed the latest trading day at $81.40, indicating a +0.11% change from the previous session's end. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.71%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.93%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.81%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the power company had gained 3.09% over the past month. This has outpaced the Utilities sector's gain of 0.58% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.08% in that time.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Southern Co. in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on August 1, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.93, signifying a 17.72% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.26 billion, up 8.98% from the prior-year quarter.
SO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4 per share and revenue of $26.65 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.59% and +5.53%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 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 0.18% higher. 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 20.31. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 15.52 for its industry.
We can also see that SO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.92. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.61 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, positioning it in the top 36% of all 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.
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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