FY2024 EPS Estimates for Southern Increased by Analyst

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Southern in a research report issued on Thursday, October 17th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $3.99 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.98. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.02 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.03 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.17 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SO. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SO opened at $93.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.64. The company has a market cap of $101.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $93.35. 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 (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.57%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,180,430,000 after acquiring an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Southern by 45.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,721,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,113,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $197,192,000 after purchasing an additional 51,751 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $184,694,000 after buying an additional 297,012 shares during the last quarter. 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.