The Southern Company vs American Electric Power Company, Inc.
AEP wins the Tale of the Tape 7–2.
🏆 Tale of the Tape
Green = winner in each category. Higher is better except P/E (lower = cheaper).
Rolling Correlation
Moderately correlated — some diversification benefit from holding both.
Fundamentals
| Metric | SO | AEP |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $103.8B | $68.9B |
| P/E Ratio | 23.5x | 18.7x |
| Forward P/E | 18.7x | 18.5x |
| P/B | 2.80x | 2.17x |
| Dividend Yield | 3.30% | 3.00% |
| Beta | 0.36 | 0.55 |
Quantitative Metrics
| Metric | SO | AEP |
|---|---|---|
| DCF Fair Value | — | — |
| DCF Upside | — | — |
| Piotroski F | 4/9 | 5/9 |
| Altman Z | 1.01 | 1.01 |
| Beneish M | -2.69 | -2.48 |
| FCF Yield | -1.69% | -1.39% |
| Net Debt/EBITDA | 4.5x | 4.8x |
| ROIC | 4.7% | 4.5% |
| WACC | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| ROIC – WACC | -1.8pp | -2.3pp |
| Gross Margin | 48.5% | 61.0% |
| Net Margin | 14.7% | 16.4% |
| Rev Growth YoY | 10.6% | 10.9% |
| Sharpe (1Y) | 0.53 | 1.53 |
| Max Drawdown 3Y | — | — |
| FCF Payout Ratio | — | — |
SO Price
AEP Price
ETF Exposure
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Quant metrics computed from financial statements and 1,200+ trading days. Correlation is Pearson coefficient on daily log returns. Not investment advice.
SO vs AEP: Head-to-Head Analysis
The Southern Company (SO) and American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) represent two companies in the Utilities sector. In our quantitative Tale of the Tape scoring, AEP leads 7–2 across nine fundamental and risk metrics including profitability, valuation, capital efficiency, and financial health.
In terms of capital efficiency, SO generates a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 4.7% compared to AEP's 4.5%. This suggests SO is more effective at deploying capital to generate shareholder returns.
The 252-day rolling correlation between SO and AEP is 0.684, indicating moderate co-movement, with some diversification value from holding both in a portfolio context.
SO appears in 31 ETFs tracked by SecuritiesDB, while AEP appears in 33 ETFs. Investors holding broad-market ETFs may already have indirect exposure to both stocks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stock is the better investment, SO or AEP?
Our quantitative analysis compares SO and AEP across nine fundamental dimensions. AEP wins the Tale of the Tape 7–2. However, stock selection depends on your individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and portfolio context. These metrics are computed from SEC filings and market data — they are not investment recommendations.
Are SO and AEP correlated?
The 252-day correlation between SO and AEP is 0.684. They show moderate correlation — partially diversifying.
How is the Tale of the Tape scored?
The Tale of the Tape compares both stocks across nine categories: profitability (net margin), valuation (P/E), efficiency (ROIC), health (Piotroski F-Score), safety (Altman Z-Score), growth (revenue YoY), risk (Sharpe ratio), leverage (debt-to-equity), and cash generation (FCF yield). The stock that wins more categories takes the overall score. Lower P/E and lower debt-to-equity count as wins.