The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Southern in a report issued on Tuesday, May 14th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $3.99 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.97. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $3.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.59 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.02 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.10 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.09 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.10 EPS.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.73.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Southern
Southern Trading Up 0.2 %
Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.54. The stock had a trading volume of 4,708,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,853,418. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $87.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.48. Southern has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $79.85.
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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern's payout ratio is 72.35%.
Insider Transactions at Southern
In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Southern by 62.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
About Southern
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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