In the latest trading session, Southern Co. (SO) closed at $83.45, marking a +1.34% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.17%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.09%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the power company had lost 6.42% was narrower than the Utilities sector's loss of 7.05% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 0.24%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Southern Co. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on November 5, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Southern Co. to post earnings of $1.65 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 3.13%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $8.34 billion, indicating a 6.56% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous 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 might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.05% upward. Southern Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Southern Co.'s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 17.94. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 16.19.
Meanwhile, SO's PEG ratio is currently 2.19. 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 2.38.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 110, placing it within the top 45% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Southern Company (The) (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).