Northwestern Energy [NWE] vs Southern Company [SO] Detailed Stock Comparison

Northwestern Energy

NASDAQ

Southern Company

NYSE

TLDR: Quick Comparison Summary

Based on 20 vital metrics comparison: Northwestern Energy wins in 9 metrics, Southern Company wins in 11 metrics, with 0 ties. Southern Company appears stronger overall.

View Metrics Details

Vital Metrics Comparison

Metric	Northwestern Energy	Southern Company	Better
P/E Ratio (TTM)	13.57	22.76	Northwestern Energy
Price-to-Book Ratio	1.10	3.08	Northwestern Energy
Debt-to-Equity Ratio	108.25	188.38	Northwestern Energy
PEG Ratio	14.40	21.97	Northwestern Energy
EV/EBITDA	10.85	13.14	Northwestern Energy
Profit Margin (TTM)	15.68%	16.54%	Southern Company
Operating Margin (TTM)	26.73%	27.82%	Southern Company
EBITDA Margin (TTM)	26.73%	27.82%	Southern Company
Return on Equity	8.27%	12.24%	Southern Company
Return on Assets (TTM)	2.77%	3.46%	Southern Company
Free Cash Flow (TTM)	$-142.50M	$833.00M	Southern Company
Dividend Yield	5.15%	2.44%	Northwestern Energy
1-Year Return	-2.41%	7.13%	Southern Company
Price-to-Sales Ratio (TTM)	2.13	3.75	Northwestern Energy
Enterprise Value	$6.31B	$175.81B	Southern Company
EV/Revenue Ratio	4.19	6.31	Northwestern Energy
Gross Profit Margin (TTM)	58.23%	48.12%	Northwestern Energy
Revenue per Share (TTM)	$25	$25	Southern Company
Earnings per Share (Diluted)	$3.84	$4.17	Southern Company
Beta (Stock Volatility)	0.37	0.37	Southern Company

Performance

Key Stats

Valuation

Financials

Short Interest

Dividends

Northwestern Energy vs Southern Company Stock Performance Analysis

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Performance Comparison

Short-term Returns

Stock	1D	1W	1M	3M	6M	YTD
Northwestern Energy	0.13%	0.15%	2.55%	-9.65%	-2.92%	-0.72%
Southern Company	-0.32%	-0.24%	3.34%	3.28%	11.74%	15.63%

Long-term Returns

Stock	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	15Y	20Y
Northwestern Energy	-2.41%	-3.47%	-9.09%	-3.47%	82.80%	66.91%
Southern Company	7.13%	22.82%	73.52%	108.43%	164.49%	177.32%

Performance Comparison

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Northwestern Energy (NWE): View Full Stock Overview

Southern Company (SO): View Full Stock Overview

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Key Performance Metrics Available:

Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly returns
52-week high and low prices
Market capitalization and valuation ratios
Financial health and profitability metrics
Dividend history and yield information

Performance & Financial Health Analysis: Northwestern Energy vs Southern Company

Metric	NWE	SO
Market Information
Market Cap i	$3.20B	$104.41B
Market Cap Category	Mid cap	Large cap
10 Day Avg. Volume i	432,980	4,455,428
90 Day Avg. Volume i	466,373	5,158,693
Last Close	$52.61	$94.90
52 Week Range	$50.43 - $59.89	$80.46 - $96.44
% from 52W High	-12.16%	-1.60%
All-Time High	$80.52 (Feb 17, 2020)	$96.44 (Jul 22, 2025)
% from All-Time High	-34.66%	-1.60%
Growth Metrics
Quarterly Revenue Growth	-0.02%	0.17%
Quarterly Earnings Growth	0.18%	0.18%
Financial Health
Profit Margin (TTM) i	0.16%	0.17%
Operating Margin (TTM) i	0.27%	0.28%
Return on Equity (TTM) i	0.08%	0.12%
Debt to Equity (MRQ) i	108.25	188.38
Cash & Liquidity
Book Value per Share (MRQ)	$47.19	$30.79
Cash per Share (MRQ)	$0.91	$2.12
Operating Cash Flow (TTM) i	$398.46M	$9.73B
Levered Free Cash Flow (TTM) i	$-229,383,872	$407.25M
Dividends
Last 12-Month Dividend Yield i	5.15%	2.44%
Last 12-Month Dividend i	$2.62	$2.16

Valuation & Enterprise Metrics Analysis: Northwestern Energy vs Southern Company

Metric	NWE	SO
Price Ratios
P/E Ratio (TTM) i	13.57	22.76
Forward P/E i	14.40	21.97
PEG Ratio i	14.40	21.97
Price to Sales (TTM) i	2.13	3.75
Price to Book (MRQ) i	1.10	3.08
Market Capitalization
Market Capitalization i	$3.20B	$104.41B
Enterprise Value i	$6.31B	$175.81B
Enterprise Value Metrics
Enterprise to Revenue i	4.19	6.31
Enterprise to EBITDA i	10.85	13.14
Risk & Other Metrics
Beta i	0.37	0.37
Book Value per Share (MRQ) i	$47.19	$30.79

Financial Statements Comparison: Northwestern Energy vs Southern Company

Financial Metrics

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Revenue

EBITDA

Shareholders Equity

Operating Margin

Free Cash Flow

Long Term Debt

Profit Margin

Current Ratio

Operating Cash Flow

Income Statement (MRQ)

Metric (MRQ)	NWE	SO
Revenue/Sales i	$466.63M	$7.78B
Cost of Goods Sold i	$194.91M	$4.03B
Gross Profit i	$271.72M	$3.74B
Research & Development i	N/A	N/A
Operating Income (EBIT) i	$124.73M	$2.01B
EBITDA i	$191.06M	$3.60B
Pre-Tax Income i	$92.14M	$1.55B
Income Tax i	$15.20M	$280.00M
Net Income (Profit) i	$76.94M	$1.27B

Balance Sheet & Liquidity Metrics (MRQ)

Metric (MRQ)	NWE	SO
Cash & Equivalents i	$56.03M	$2.33B
Total Current Assets i	$472.83M	$11.82B
Total Current Liabilities i	$397.64M	$13.77B
Long-Term Debt i	$3.13B	$64.24B
Total Shareholders Equity i	$2.90B	$37.22B
Retained Earnings i	$913.65M	$14.29B
Property, Plant & Equipment i	N/A	$3.01B

Cash Flow Statement Comparison (MRQ)

Metric (MRQ)	NWE	SO
Operating Cash Flow i	$128.45M	$1.94B
Capital Expenditures i	$-92.12M	$-2.44B
Free Cash Flow i	$61.27M	$-1.19B
Debt Repayment i	$-362.00M	$-876.00M
Common Stock Repurchase i	N/A	N/A

Short Interest & Institutional Ownership Analysis

Metric	NWE	SO
Shares Short i	1.34M	30.51M
Short Ratio i	2.81	5.49
Short % of Float i	0.03%	0.03%
Average Daily Volume (10 Day) i	432,980	4,455,428
Average Daily Volume (90 Day) i	466,373	5,158,693
Shares Outstanding i	61.32M	1.10B
Float Shares i	61.00M	1.10B
% Held by Insiders i	0.01%	0.00%
% Held by Institutions i	0.99%	0.72%

Dividend Analysis & Yield Comparison: Northwestern Energy vs Southern Company

Metric	NWE	SO
Last 12-Month Dividend i	$2.62	$2.16
Last 12-Month Dividend Yield i	5.15%	2.44%
3-Year Avg Annual Dividend i	$2.58	$2.34
3-Year Avg Dividend Yield i	1.21%	0.93%
3-Year Total Dividends i	$7.74	$7.02
Ex-Dividend Date	Jun 13, 2025	Feb 18, 2025

Northwestern Energy [NWE] vs Southern Company [SO] Detailed Stock Comparison