Southern Co. (SO) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Southern Co. (SO) closed the most recent trading day at $92.53, moving -1.89% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.22%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.98%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.35%. Heading into today, shares of the power company had gained 0.18% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's gain of 1.96% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.56%.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Southern Co. in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.01, showcasing a 10.99% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $7.39 billion, indicating a 5.94% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.58 per share and a revenue of $31.36 billion, indicating changes of +6.51% and +6.1%, respectively, from the former year. Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Southern Co. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits. Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.03% increase. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). With respect to valuation, Southern Co. is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.6. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.17, which means Southern Co. is trading at a premium to the group. One should further note that SO currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.85. 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 had an average PEG ratio of 2.7 as trading concluded yesterday. The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 107, this industry ranks in the top 44% of all industries, numbering over 250. The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks