The Southern Company Expected to Post FY2024 Earnings of $4.03 Per Share (NYSE:SO)

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Seaport Res Ptn dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southern in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.03 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.05. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $3.99 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2025 earnings at $4.34 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.61 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SO. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $74.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $81.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.31. Southern has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

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.