Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Southern Q4 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Stock analysts at KeyCorp decreased their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Southern in a report released on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.50 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.58. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2026 earnings at $4.61 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.13 EPS.

SO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.47.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $84.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $92.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.47 and a 200-day moving average of $85.28.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.