$5.62 Billion in Sales Expected for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) This Quarter

Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) will announce $5.62 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Three analysts have issued estimates for Southern’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $5.69 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $5.58 billion. Southern posted sales of $5.20 billion during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 8.1%. The company is scheduled to issue its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Southern will report full-year sales of $24.62 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $24.17 billion to $25.08 billion. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the business will post sales of $25.57 billion, with estimates ranging from $25.26 billion to $26.11 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are an average based on a survey of research firms that cover Southern.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.06. Southern had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Credit Suisse Group started coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, April 25th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.29.

In related news, insider Ann P. Daiss sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $506,025.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $1,101,565.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,758,125.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 317,331 shares of company stock worth $22,954,324 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Landmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IndexIQ Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.58% of the company’s stock.

NYSE:SO traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $76.07. 3,773,770 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,801,422. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $60.12 and a fifty-two week high of $77.24.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 16th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 13th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 125.93%.

About Southern (Get Rating)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, Wholesale Gas Services, and Gas Marketing Services segments. 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, wholesale gas services, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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