Southern Reports Strong Quarterly Earnings Results
Southern (NYSE:SO), the utilities provider, has reported its earnings results for the first quarter of 2017. The company announced that it achieved $0.79 earnings-per-share (EPS) for this period, exceeding analyst consensus estimates of $0.71 by eight cents. Southern’s net margin reached over 11%, whilst their return on equity amounted to almost 11%. Revenue for Q1 was also healthy at $6.48bn; this compared favourably to analysts’ expectations of a $6.14bn figure and was only a slight decrease on last year’s equivalent quarter.
In spite of these impressive financial results, two major executives each sold shares in the firm for millions of dollars earlier this month, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). EVP Bryan D Anderson sold 9,491 shares on May 8th for an average price of $75.03 per share, producing a total sum of $712,109.73. Another insider sale followed when CEO Thomas A Fanning disposed of 50k shares for $3,758m on May 10th at an average price of $75.16 per share.
These insider sales activities have prompted some industry experts to speculate over concerns about Southern’s long-term performance prospects despite such positive financial news in Q1 of this year; the recent sales may be viewed as profit taking by some higher-ups rather than negative sentiment towards the company.
Despite this development being somewhat ambiguous, market reactions indicate that Southern is continuing to generate revenue and maintain its position as a leader within the utilities sector given that just five days ago on Friday May 19th SO opened at $71.08 per share – maintaining its relatively modest fluctuations which usually signal stability and confidence from investors.
Overall then there are strong fundamentals driving Southern’s growth strategies; Yet in spite all evidence pointing positively so far in FY 2017, the insider sales naturally create a certain level of speculation in the minds of some but do not detract from Southern’s ongoing success.
Zacks Research Raises Q2 2023 EPS Estimates for Southern Company (NYSE:SO)
The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) has been generating a significant amount of attention among investors recently, following the Zacks Research report that raised their Q2 2023 EPS estimates for the firm on Wednesday, June 7th. N. Choudhury, an analyst at Zacks Research, has now predicted that the utilities provider will see earnings per share of $0.75 for Q2 2023, an increase from their prior estimate of $0.74.
Zacks Research has also released its estimations for Southern’s earnings in various other quarters and fiscal years; including the prediction that Q3 2023 will see an earning of $1.49 per share and Q4 2023 earnings at $0.56 per share. Looking further into the future, estimates for Q2 2024 put earnings at $0.93 EPS, while Q3 and Q4 may reach as high as $1.10 and $1.06 EPS respectively. The research organization has also set FY2024 earnings at a projected sum of $3.99 EPS and FY2025 may reach up to $4.27 EPS.
A number of reputable research firms have commented on SO with varying opinions about its future potential in the stock market. For example, Goldman Sachs began coverage on shares of Southern earlier this year and gave it a “buy” rating alongside a target price of $80.00 for the stock’s performance going forward.
Despite these predictions being somewhat bullish overall, some analysts have given less optimistic reviews regarding SO performance; Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares from $73 to $71 and assigned it an “equal weight” rating in light of recent events in the energy sector.
Investors are keeping a watchful eye on Southern due to it being one of America’s biggest power companies with control over Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power – all of which could have an impact on the energy industry depending on how SO’s earnings ebb and flow in the coming months. Data from Bloomberg has revealed that the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” overall at present, with a mean target price of $74.07.
As for institutional investors and hedge funds, many have recently bought and sold shares of Southern throughout different quarters – indicating that movements in Southern’s earnings are being closely monitored by some of the largest investors. FMR LLC increased their holdings in SO shares to 9.1% this year and now own $2,906,914 shares during the current quarter alone.
Ultimately, time will tell whether predictions made by Zacks Research are accurate or not; but information from research firms alongside movements in institutional investment suggest that all eyes are on Southern as it continues to perform within the energy sector.
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