Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) issued an update on its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.900-0.900 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.910. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.950-4.050 EPS.

Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

SO stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.85. The company had a trading volume of 4,469,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,739,155. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.98. The company has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Southern will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 79.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank dropped 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 note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $74.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402. Company insiders own 0.18% 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.