KeyCorp Brokers Lower Earnings Estimates for Southern

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp dropped their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.50 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.58. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2026 earnings at $4.61 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.13 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SO. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $86.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.28. The stock has a market cap of $94.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 149.5% in the second quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 9,726 shares during the period. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Southern by 219.4% in the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 6,162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.