FY2024 EPS Estimates for Southern Cut by Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southern in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $3.97 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $3.99. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.04 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.46 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.23 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.87 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.15 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SO. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.47.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SO opened at $87.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Southern has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

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 owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1,361.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $1,168,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Southern by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 30,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 14,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 422.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 40,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,906,000 after purchasing an additional 32,745 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.