Brokers Offer Predictions for Southern FY2024 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.06 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.03. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2025 earnings at $4.36 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.64 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.96 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SO. Guggenheim raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group started 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, Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE SO opened at $82.97 on Wednesday. Southern has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.03. The company has a market capitalization of $90.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 39,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 94.6% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in Southern by 77.5% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Southern by 58.6% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.9% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 27,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.