The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) to Post FY2024 Earnings of $4.03 Per Share, Seaport Res Ptn Forecasts

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Southern in a report released on Wednesday, April 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.03 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.05. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $3.99 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2025 earnings at $4.34 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.61 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. Southern’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SO. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $74.37 on Friday. Southern has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.50 and a 200-day moving average of $69.31. The company has a market cap of $81.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.