The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. In addition, it owns and operates nuclear, coal, hydro, cogeneration, solar, wind, battery storage, and fuel cell facilities. Further, the constructs, operates, and maintains approximately 77,900 miles of natural gas pipelines and 14 storage facilities with total capacity of 157 Bcf to provide natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company serves approximately 8.9 million electric and gas utility customers. Further, it develops distributed energy and resilience solutions; deploys microgrids for commercial, industrial, governmental, and utility customers; and offers digital wireless communications and fiber optics services. The Southern Company was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Southern Company looks like a high-quality defensive asset, but no longer a cheap one: on most operating metrics, the company is stronger than the industry median, yet the market has largely already reflected this. P/E, P/S, and P/B are noticeably above industry benchmarks, indicating a sector premium and limiting the potential for re-rating without faster growth. At the same time, profitability remains strong: net, operating, and gross margins are above the median, while ROE and returns on tangible capital also look convincing. Margin trends over recent periods have been generally stable, but without clear improvement, so the case for multiple expansion is weaker than for maintaining the current valuation. Leverage remains significant: debt/equity is above the median, debt is rising, and liquidity is weak — current ratio and quick ratio are below comfortable levels. This is not unusual for the utilities sector, but combined with a high valuation and growing liabilities, it limits upside. Revenue, earnings, and EBITDA in absolute terms look stable, while assets and equity continue to grow, supporting the fundamental base. However, valuation through P/FCF does not provide a useful signal, so it cannot be relied on to improve the outlook. Dividend yield in the current data does not look like a strong driver, and the lack of sustained dividend growth reduces its appeal for income investors. Overall, the fundamentals confirm the quality of the business more than they promise accelerated appreciation. Therefore, a moderate conservative downward adjustment is warranted to account for the premium valuation, leverage, and weak liquidity while preserving the strong operating profitability.

SOXQ-12.26

SOL-10.26

Southern Company (The)

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Быки в растерянности.

Strong index, flat. The bulls are confused.

Слабый индекс, значительно упал. Рынок на стороне быков.

Weak index, significantly down. The market is on the bulls' side.

Средний индекс, без изменений. Отток средств из лонгов на высоком уровне.

Medium index, flat. Outflow of funds from longs at a high level.

SO has strong profitability and stable growth in its customer base, but a high valuation, debt, and weak liquidity limit the potential for further upside.

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In trading on Thursday, shares of Southern Company (Symbol: SO) crossed above their 200 day moving average of $92.24, changing hands as high as $93.59 per share. Southern Company shares are currently trading up about 3.3% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of SO shares, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SO's low point in its 52 week range is $81.69 per share, with $99.58 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $93.43. The SO DMA information above was sourced from TechnicalAnalysisChannel.com
Click here to find out which 9 other energy stocks recently crossed above their 200 day moving average »
Further SO Research:
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SO Crosses Above Key Moving Average Level

Key Points
Southern Company operates utilities across the southeastern U.S.
The utility offers a 3.4% dividend yield and is seeing strong electricity demand in its region.
It plans to build 10 GW of new power generation capacity over the next several years.
Data centers need power, and Southern Company (NYSE: SO), an electric utility owner and operator, benefits. For investors seeking passive income along with upside from the data center energy boom, Southern Company offers an attractive 3.4% dividend yield.
The utility provider pays dividends quarterly, so to earn an average of $600 in dividend income per month, or $7,200 annually, you would need to invest about $212,000 in Southern Company stock at its current price. Here's what investors should know about this steady utility and the growing data center opportunity it's pursuing.
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Data center electricity use is surging
Data centers are popping up at a rapid pace, and growth in Southern Company's region has been particularly hot. Chief Financial Officer David Poroch told investors that data center electricity usage across the system grew 55% year over year in the second quarter. Active systemwide data center load exceeded 1.2 gigawatts (GW), up 500 megawatts (MW) from last year.
Southern Company is adding capacity to meet growing demand
Southern Company has contracted over 17 GW of large-load customer agreements scheduled to come online through the mid-2030s. Southern Company's regulated utility, Georgia Power, has a 25-year, 3.2-gigawatt contract to serve OpenAI's data center campus in Effingham County.
To meet these growing energy needs, Southern Company plans to build out 10 GW of new power generation resources, including natural gas units, turbines, battery energy storage systems, and hundreds of miles of new transmission lines. As part of this, it has also partnered with Alphabet's Google to support power uprates at the Vogtle and Hatch nuclear plants, adding 96 MW of capacity to the grid.
If you're looking for a dividend stock with exposure to the growing electricity demand of hyperscale data centers, Southern Company is a top utility stock to consider.
Should you buy stock in Southern Company right now?
Before you buy stock in Southern Company, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Southern Company wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $380,579!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,359,789!*
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Courtney Carlsen has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

How to Earn $600 a Month From a Company That Builds and Operates Power Plants for Data Centers

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF (Symbol: FUTY) where we have detected an approximate $156.8 million dollar outflow -- that's a 7.0% decrease week over week (from 41,200,000 to 38,300,000). Among the largest underlying components of FUTY, in trading today Southern Company (Symbol: SO) is down about 0.2%, Constellation Energy Corp (Symbol: CEG) is off about 4.8%, and American Electric Power Co Inc (Symbol: AEP) is lower by about 0.1%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the FUTY Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of FUTY, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, FUTY's low point in its 52 week range is $50.525 per share, with $61.51 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $53.34. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Further FUTY Research:

FUTY, SO, CEG, AEP: Large Outflows Detected at ETF

Comparing units outstanding versus one week ago at the coverage universe of ETFs at ETF Channel, the biggest inflow was seen in the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF, which added 29,750,000 units, or a 5.6% increase week over week. Among the largest underlying components of XLU, in morning trading today Nextera Energy is trading flat, and Southern is relatively unchanged.
And on a percentage change basis, the ETF with the biggest increase in inflows was the Tradr 2X Long APLD Daily ETF, which added 2,990,000 units, for a 39.3% increase in outstanding units.

XLU, APLX: Big ETF Inflows

Key Points
GE Vernova’s nuclear business will benefit from Georgia Power’s upgrades.
Brookfield, through Westinghouse, will also profit from that expansion.
Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google recently struck a deal with The Southern Company's (NYSE: SO) Georgia Power to boost its capacity at two nuclear plants. Google will finance "uprates" (upgrades for a reactor's power output) at Georgia Power's Vogtle and Hatch nuclear plants to add 96 MW of new capacity to its electric grid.
Those upgrades will support the construction of new data centers, while Google's funding will shield Georgia Power's residential and industrial customers from those expenses. That's a win-win for both companies, and two other industrial stocks that could benefit from the deal are GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) and Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE: BEPC).
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GE Vernova
GE Vernova, the former energy division of General Electric (NYSE: GE), was spun off as a stand-alone company in 2024. Its Power business, which accounted for 55% of its orders last year, produces gas turbines for combined-cycle plants and steam turbines for coal, gas, and nuclear plants. It also provides services for nuclear power plants. Its Electrification business, which accounted for another 33% of its orders, upgrades electrical grids. Both of these businesses have benefited from the rapid construction of power-hungry data centers.
GE Vernova, through its nuclear business and nuclear joint venture with Hitachi, has a massive presence at Georgia Power's Hatch plant. The plant's Unit 1 and Unit 2 sites both use GE's Mark I Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), and it still relies on GE Vernova's reactor services, engineering support, and nuclear fuel advancements.
Therefore, any major upgrades at Hatch will likely rely on GE Vernova's equipment and services, thereby boosting the Power segment's orders. The plant's increased electricity transmission to the grid could also generate tailwinds for its Electrification business.
The growth of those two businesses should offset the slower growth of its Wind business, which grappled with operational, macroeconomic, and demand-related challenges in recent years. GE Vernova's backlog already grew 37% year over year to $176.3 billion in its latest quarter, and it should grow even bigger as the cloud and AI markets continue to expand.
Brookfield Renewable Corporation
Brookfield Renewable builds hydroelectric dams, wind farms, solar power plants, and other green energy projects, with a total operational capacity of 47.3 GW. On its own, Brookfield might not seem to have that much exposure to Google's deal with Georgia Power.
But three years ago, a consortium led by Brookfield Renewable (along with its institutional affiliates) and the uranium miner Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) acquired Westinghouse Electric Company, one of the world's leading nuclear technology companies. Brookfield and its affiliates took a 51% stake in the company, while Cameco controlled the remaining 49%.
Westinghouse built the pressurized water reactors (PWRs) used across all four units at Georgia Power's Vogtle plant, and it still provides the utility with specialized engineering services, regulatory compliance support, and proprietary nuclear fuel assemblies. Therefore, any major upgrades at Vogtle should generate tailwinds for Westinghouse and boost Brookfield's earnings.
But investors shouldn't jump to conclusions
GE Vernova and Westinghouse could benefit from Google's deal with Georgia Power, but investors shouldn't count their eggs before they hatch. Georgia's state regulators still need to approve the massive deal amid swelling protests against AI and data centers, and it will take at least a few years to uprate both plants.
Instead of assuming Google's deal with Georgia Power will drive more investors toward GE Vernova or Brookfield Renewable, investors should just view the deal as another positive sign for the AI power market. That's why Meta struck a similar deal with Constellation Energy last year. We'll likely see more of these deals as the AI market's breakneck expansion drives demand for nuclear power beyond its available supply.
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Leo Sun has positions in Brookfield Renewable and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Cameco, Constellation Energy, GE Aerospace, GE Vernova, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Renewable and Hitachi. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Google Just Went Nuclear in Georgia. These 2 Industrial Stocks Get Paid to Build It.

Key Points
Lowe's is an iconic home improvement stock that's been struggling this year, but its fundamentals remain strong.
Rising interest rates have pushed down shares of Southern Company and Duke Energy lately.
These stocks have all been raising their payouts in recent years, and they're likely to continue doing so in the future.
The one thing that's better than just a regular dividend stock is a stock that also grows its dividend. For investors, this provides an incentive to hang on for the long haul, as the income from the investment rises over time.
A bonus is when dividend growth stocks are on sale, as that means their yields are also higher than normal. Three stocks that recently hit new 52-week lows and that are solid income investments are Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), Southern Company (NYSE:SO), and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK).
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Image source: Getty Images.
Lowe's
Lowe's is a top home improvement company with a history dating back more than a century. It's not only a top retailer in the country but also a solid income-generating investment.
This year, the retail stock has been struggling, as it's down 23% since the beginning of the year. Rising interest rates may have rattled investors, fearing that it will result in a decline in homebuying and thus, renovations. But for long-term investors, that really doesn't matter. There will be an inevitable bounce-back, as home repairs and renovations are inevitable expenses that can only be delayed.
With the decline in its share price, Lowe's makes for a fantastic buy right now. Its yield is up to 2.7%, which is more than double the rate of the S&P 500 average (1.1%). The company has increased its dividend for decades, with the most recent increase coming in May, when Lowe's raised its dividend by 4%.
Although the market may be bearish on Lowe's, its future remains bright. And in the trailing 12 months, the company has generated $7 billion in free cash flow -- easily enough to cover its cash dividend payments totaling $2.7 billion over that time frame. For long-term investors, the stock looks like a no-brainer buy, especially with it trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of just 16, which is based on analyst projections.
Southern Company
Another stock that's been tumbling in recent weeks is Southern Company, which operates gas and electric utilities. It's an asset-heavy business, so when interest rates rise, the market can turn bearish on it, as it has, since the Fed raised interest rates earlier in the month.
For long-term dividend investors, however, this can be great news, as Southern's stock has hit fresh 52-week lows. Its dividend yield is now up around 3.7%. In April, the company announced it was raising its dividend for a 25th consecutive year, as it boosted its quarterly dividend payment by eight cents.
The stock has a manageable payout ratio of about 72%, which suggests it's not only safe but that there is room for more rate increases in the future. The inherent stability of its business makes this a top dividend stock to consider hanging on to. Its forward P/E of 17 is also lower than the S&P 500 average of 20, making it an appealing value buy.
Duke Energy
Another utility stock the market has grown bearish on amid rising interest rates is Duke Energy. It's trading at a new low, and, due to its recent tailspin, it now yields 3.8%, making it the highest-yielding investment on this list.
Duke is a leading energy company with both gas and electric operations, as it serves millions of people every day. A decade ago, the stock was paying its shareholders $0.855 per share on a quarterly basis. It has since increased its quarterly payout by 27%, to $1.085 per share each quarter. That averages out to a compounded annual growth rate of 2.4%.
This is another utility stock that's also trading at approximately 16 times its forward earnings. It's hard to go wrong with any of these dividend stocks, but with Duke being a top energy company and offering the highest yield, it may just be the most attractive one on this list.
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David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Duke Energy and Lowe's Companies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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3 Dividend Growth Stocks That Have Recently Hit New 52-Week Lows

Key Points
Utility stocks tend to be reliable income holdings because their underlying companies’ customers do whatever it takes to keep their electricity turned on.
Southern Company’s dividend history confirms this resiliency.
Just bear in mind it’s a much better income investment than it is a growth holding.
If you've been an investor long enough, then you know utilities stocks are great dividend payers. Consumers will do whatever it takes to keep their lights turned on, after all.
But what kind of dividend income do these names generate? What would it take to produce, say $300 per month with a typical power utility name like Southern Company (NYSE: SO)?
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It's not too difficult to figure out. Based on Southern Company's forward-looking annualized yield of 3.7%, you'd need 1,188 shares of the utility stock to produce $3,600 worth of yearly dividend income. That's roughly $98,485 worth of this stock if you're buying at today's price.
A stake of this size obviously won't generate $300 per month, of course, since Southern Company pays its dividend quarterly. You'd need to split this $900 payment, made every three months, into three equal pieces if you specifically need $300 in accessible cash every month.
You could certainly do worse, too. While it's clearly not a growth stock, Southern Company has not only paid its quarterly dividend like clockwork for decades now, but it has also raised its annual per-share dividend for 25 consecutive years. And by more than a little. The company's current quarterly payment of $0.76 per share is up 35% from its $0.56 payout of a decade ago. That's average yearly growth of a little more than 3%, outpacing inflation for this time frame. Patient shareholders have also been rewarded with a little bit of capital appreciation during this stretch, although progress has been erratic.
Regardless, Southern Company should first and foremost be seen as an income investment, a role it's historically played very, very well.
Should you buy stock in Southern Company right now?
Before you buy stock in Southern Company, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Southern Company wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $383,680!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,382,954!*
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James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The Math Doesn't Lie: What It Really Costs to Generate $300 in Dividend Income From Southern Company Stock

Southern Co. (SO) has been on a downward spiral lately with significant selling pressure. After declining 7% over the past four weeks, the stock looks well positioned for a trend reversal as it is now in oversold territory and there is strong agreement among Wall Street analysts that the company will report better earnings than they predicted earlier.
We use Relative Strength Index (RSI), one of the most commonly used technical indicators, for spotting whether a stock is oversold. This is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements.
RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Usually, a stock is considered oversold when its RSI reading falls below 30.
Technically, every stock oscillates between being overbought and oversold irrespective of the quality of their fundamentals. And the beauty of RSI is that it helps you quickly and easily check if a stock's price is reaching a point of reversal.
So, by this measure, if a stock has gotten too far below its fair value just because of unwarranted selling pressure, investors may start looking for entry opportunities in the stock for benefiting from the inevitable rebound.
However, like every investing tool, RSI has its limitations, and should not be used alone for making an investment decision.
Why SO Could Bounce Back Before Long
The heavy selling of SO shares appears to be in the process of exhausting itself, as indicated by its RSI reading of 22.64. So, the trend for the stock could reverse soon for reaching the old equilibrium of supply and demand.
This technical indicator is not the only factor that calls for a potential rebound for the stock. There is a fundamental indicator as well. A strong agreement among sell-side analysts covering SO in raising earnings estimates for the current year has led to an increase in the consensus EPS estimate by 0.1% over the last 30 days. And an upward trend in earnings estimate revisions usually translates into price appreciation in the near term.
Moreover, SO currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than 4,000 stocks that we rank based on trends in earnings estimate revisions and EPS surprises. This is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential turnaround in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
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Down 7% in 4 Weeks, Here's Why You Should You Buy the Dip in Southern Co. (SO)

In the latest close session, Southern Co. (SO) was down 1.97% at $83.47. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.76%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.68%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1.13%.
Shares of the power company have depreciated by 5.36% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Utilities sector's loss of 4.18%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.26%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Southern Co. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.65, up 3.13% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.34 billion, up 6.56% from the prior-year quarter.
SO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.59 per share and revenue of $31.04 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +6.74% and +5.02%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.1% increase. 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 18.55. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 16.62.
Investors should also note that SO has a PEG ratio of 2.27 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. SO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.46 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 104, positioning it in the top 43% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Southern Co. (SO) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU) where we have detected an approximate $182.9 million dollar outflow -- that's a 0.9% decrease week over week (from 519,148,320 to 514,648,320). Among the largest underlying components of XLU, in trading today Southern Company (Symbol: SO) is off about 0.2%, Constellation Energy Corp (Symbol: CEG) is up about 0.5%, and American Electric Power Co Inc (Symbol: AEP) is up by about 0.2%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the XLU Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of XLU, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, XLU's low point in its 52 week range is $40.45 per share, with $47.80 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $40.67. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Further XLU Research: