KeyCorp Has Negative Outlook for Southern Q4 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Stock analysts at KeyCorp lowered their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Southern in a report issued on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $0.58 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.60. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.02 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern's FY2025 earnings at $4.37 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.88 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.12 EPS.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.07.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

SO traded down $0.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $93.61. 2,722,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,420,979. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $89.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $102.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 382.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,998,000 after acquiring an additional 33,120 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Southern by 149.5% in the second quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 9,726 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Southern by 219.4% during the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $455,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.57%.

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.