Zacks Research Has Weak Outlook for Southern FY2024 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings per share 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 previous 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.

SO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $89.33 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.94. Southern has a 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $97.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 39,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 72.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,072 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Southern by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 8,996 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $478,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,361,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.