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Southern Co. (SO) closed at $81.87 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.68% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.86%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.38%.
Shares of the power company witnessed a loss of 2.26% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Utilities sector with its loss of 7.63% and underperforming the S&P 500's loss of 2.2%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Southern Co. in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Southern Co. is projected to report earnings of $0.53 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 17.19%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $6.21 billion, indicating a 2.66% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.53% higher within the past month. Currently, Southern Co. is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Southern Co. currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.81. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.14, which means Southern Co. is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, SO's PEG ratio is currently 2.77. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Utility - Electric Power industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.52 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 146, positioning it in the bottom 42% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.