FY2024 EPS Estimates for Southern Raised by Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 17th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $3.99 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $3.98. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.02 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's Q1 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.03 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.17 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.07.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

SO stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.25. 3,662,980 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,440,846. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $93.35.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Southern by 2,719.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,670,000 after buying an additional 841,435 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of Southern by 7,657.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,304,000 after acquiring an additional 563,785 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,929,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,457,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.