Zacks Research Has Strong Estimate for Southern Q4 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Southern in a note issued to investors on Thursday, October 17th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.57 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.56. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.02 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.27 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SO. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.07.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.73 on Monday. Southern has a 1 year low of $64.53 and a 1 year high of $93.73. 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 $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.95. The firm has a market cap of $101.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 3,628.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Southern by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.