SCANA Corp.’s SCG fourth-quarter 2017 loss of $3.11 per share compared unfavorably with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 98 cents. The bottom line also deteriorated from the year-ago quarter’s figure of 87 cents. The decline was caused by higher expenses relating to the abandonment of a new nuclear project.Quarterly operating revenues increased to $1,158 million, up from $1,057 million in the year-ago quarter. SCANA Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise SCANA Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | SCANA Corporation QuoteIn 2017, the energy holding company reported a loss of 83 cents against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of $4.17. The figure declined from earnings of $4.16 a year ago.In 2017, total revenues were $4,407 million, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,500 million but improved from $4,227 million a year ago.Segment PerformanceSouth Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G): Quarterly loss from this segment — SCANA’s principal subsidiary — was $3.16 against earnings of 65 cents in the year-ago quarter. Higher expenses primarily led to the decline.As of Dec 31, 2017, SCE&G was serving about 368,000 natural gas customers, up 2.9% annually and 719,000 electric customers, up 1.3% annually.PSNC Energy: This segment recorded profit of 20 cents during the fourth quarter compared with 19 cents in the prior-year quarter. The upside was driven by customer growth and improved gas margin.SCANA Energy-Georgia: The segment — comprising SCANA’s retail natural gas marketing business in Georgia — posted earnings of 7 cents, up 40% from 5 cents in the fourth quarter of 2016. The improvement can be attributed to increased gas margins.Corporate and Other, Net: This business segment posted loss of 22 cents, wider than the loss of 2 cents in the year-ago quarter.ExpensesDuring the fourth quarter, the company reported $1,766 million in operating expenses compared with $804 million in the prior-year quarter.Q4 Price PerformanceSCANA’s shares have lost 18% during the quarter compared with the industry’s decline of 0.5%. Zacks Rank & Key PicksSCANA carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).A few better-ranked players in the same sector are EOG Resources EOG, Pioneer Natural Resources Company PXD and Antero Resources Corp. AR. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Houston, TX-based EOG Resources is a major independent oil and gas exploration and production company. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 40.94% in the preceding four quarters.Headquartered at Irving, TX, Pioneer Natural Resources is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 66.92% in the preceding four quarters.Antero Resources, based in Denver, CO, is an independent oil and natural gas company. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 21.05% in the preceding quarter.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SCANA Corporation (SCG): Free Stock Analysis Report Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD): Free Stock Analysis Report EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG): Free Stock Analysis Report Antero Resources Corporation (AR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research