Southern Co. (SO) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

In the latest close session, Southern Co. (SO) was up +1.61% at $94.93. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.44% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.09%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 2.22%. Shares of the power company witnessed a loss of 1.18% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Utilities sector with its loss of 1.28%, and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.08%.The upcoming earnings release of Southern Co. will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.01, up 10.99% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $7.39 billion, up 5.94% from the year-ago period. For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.58 per share and a revenue of $31.36 billion, representing changes of +6.51% and +6.1%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Southern Co. presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). From a valuation perspective, Southern Co. is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.41. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.11. Meanwhile, SO's PEG ratio is currently 2.82. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Utility - Electric Power industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.67. The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 154, this industry ranks in the bottom 37% of all industries, numbering over 250. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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. Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks