KeyCorp Has Negative Estimate for Southern FY2027 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Analysts at KeyCorp decreased their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Southern in a research report issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.87 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $4.88. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SO. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.81. 4,798,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,858,925. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. Southern has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $89.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.28.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during 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 last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.