Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Southern

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.92 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.91. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $95.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $105.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.