Southern (NYSE:SO) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.050-4.050 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.030. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY24 guidance to $4.05 EPS.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $1.63 on Thursday, hitting $90.99. 10,245,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,450,737. Southern has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 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 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 68.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.