Southern (NYSE:SO) Announces Earnings Results

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $0.52 on Friday, hitting $75.85. 4,578,202 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. Southern has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays raised 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. Scotiabank cut their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,672,210.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.