In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO) closed at $95.93, marking a -1.26% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.02%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.63%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.23%.
The stock of power company has fallen by 0.88% in the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's gain of 2% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.63%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Southern Co. in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on April 30, 2026. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.22, reflecting a 0.81% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.11 billion, up 4.36% from the prior-year quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.59 per share and a revenue of $30.63 billion, indicating changes of +6.74% and +3.66%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% higher. As of now, Southern Co. holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Southern Co. is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.19. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 18.8.
We can additionally observe that SO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.93. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Utility - Electric Power industry stood at 2.81 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 70, positioning it in the top 29% 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.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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Southern Company (The) (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).