Southern FY2024 EPS Estimate Raised by Seaport Res Ptn

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a report issued on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now expects that the utilities provider will earn $4.06 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.03. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southern's FY2025 earnings at $4.36 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.64 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.96 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SO. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho cut Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,807,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,003,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. Southern has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.05. The firm has a market cap of $90.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

About Southern

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.