Southern (NYSE:SO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.19 EPS

Southern (NYSE:SO) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19, Briefing.com reports. Southern had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.58. The stock had a trading volume of 7,196,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,794,487. The firm has a market cap of $96.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $89.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.73 and a 200-day moving average of $74.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director The Ernest J. Moniz 2018 Trust 8,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.