Southern (NYSE:SO) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Southern (NYSE:SO) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Southern had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern updated its FY24 guidance to $4.05 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 4.050-4.050 EPS.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $2.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,817,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,060,107. The stock has a market cap of $96.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.74 and a 200 day moving average of $83.35. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.