KeyCorp Has Negative Outlook for Southern FY2027 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp lowered their FY2027 EPS estimates for Southern in a research note issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.87 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.88. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.47.

Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $84.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Southern has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.