Southern (SO) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Southern (NYSE:SO) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect Southern to post earnings of $0.90 per share for the quarter. Southern has set its Q1 guidance at $0.90 EPS and its FY24 guidance at $3.95-4.05 EPS.Persons interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Southern to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Southern Stock Up 1.6 %

SO stock opened at $74.39 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The stock has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. Corporate insiders own 0.18% 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.