In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO) closed at $87.04, marking a +1.01% move from the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.06%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.38%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.44%.
Coming into today, shares of the power company had lost 1.15% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector lost 3.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.36%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Southern Co. in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on November 5, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.65, signifying a 3.13% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $8.34 billion, indicating a 6.56% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $4.59 per share and a revenue of $31.04 billion, signifying shifts of +6.74% and +5.02%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Southern Co. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent 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 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 remained steady. Southern Co. currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Southern Co. is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.77. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.18 for its industry.
Meanwhile, SO's PEG ratio is currently 2.29. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Utility - Electric Power industry stood at 2.5 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Southern Company (The) (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).