Southern (NYSE:SO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

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

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.85. The company had a trading volume of 4,578,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.48. Southern has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.58.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. 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 note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.