FY2024 EPS Estimates for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Boosted by Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Southern in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 10th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.00 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.97. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $3.60 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.92 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.02 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.38 billion.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Southern from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Scotiabank lowered Southern from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.50.

Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

SO stock opened at $71.42 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Southern has a 1-year low of $58.85 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $77.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.53.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $693,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,868.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,751,950 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 23.4% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Southern by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Southern by 63.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,776,000 after buying an additional 239,325 shares in the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.

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