FY2024 EPS Estimates for Southern Cut by Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for Southern in a report issued on Wednesday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $3.97 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.99. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS.

SO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.41 on Monday. Southern has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.86. The firm has a market cap of $96.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,768 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Southern by 17,272.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,657,000 after purchasing an additional 52,414 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Southern by 72.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,570,000 after buying an additional 1,293,072 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.