FY2024 EPS Estimates for Southern Raised by Seaport Res Ptn

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a report issued on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.06 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.03. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2025 earnings at $4.36 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.64 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.96 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 company’s 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.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $80.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $85.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.05. Southern has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $88.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 5.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 219.4% in the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing 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, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.