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

Southern (NYSE:SO) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19, Briefing.com reports. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The company’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 on Friday, reaching $88.58. 7,196,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,794,487. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. Southern has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $89.24.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus increased their price target on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.33.

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.