Southern (NYSE:SO) Posts Earnings Results

Southern (NYSE:SO) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

SO opened at $75.85 on Friday. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

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.