Southern
Market Cap
US$61.7b
Last Updated
2021/03/08 00:52 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. More Details
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
6 star dividend payer with questionable track record.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Southern's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: SO is less volatile than 75% of US stocks over the past 3 months, typically moving +/- 3% a week.
Volatility Over Time: SO's weekly volatility (3%) has been stable over the past year.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
2.9%
SO
2.0%
US Electric Utilities
-0.4%
US Market
1 Year Return
-12.7%
SO
-11.6%
US Electric Utilities
36.2%
US Market
Return vs Industry: SO underperformed the US Electric Utilities industry which returned -11.6% over the past year.
Return vs Market: SO underperformed the US Market which returned 36.2% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| SO | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | 2.9% | 2.0% | -0.4% |
| 30 Day | -4.2% | -7.2% | -2.9% |
| 90 Day | -5.5% | -4.4% | 5.0% |
| 1 Year | -8.8%-12.7% | -8.6%-11.6% | 39.1%36.2% |
| 3 Year | 52.9%33.3% | 22.1%11.8% | 48.4%39.0% |
| 5 Year | 47.5%17.2% | 27.1%8.9% | 116.5%92.4% |
Long-Term Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Southern's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
1 week ago | Simply Wall St
What Do The Returns On Capital At Southern (NYSE:SO) Tell Us?3 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
What Type Of Shareholders Make Up The Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) Share Registry?1 month ago | Simply Wall St
Southern (NYSE:SO) Has Compensated Shareholders With A Respectable 59% Return On Their InvestmentValuation
Is Southern undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
19.79x
Price to Earnings (PE) ratio
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: SO ($58.35) is trading above our estimate of fair value ($58.25)
Significantly Below Fair Value: SO is trading above our estimate of fair value.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: SO's PE Ratio (19.8x) is in line with the US Electric Utilities industry average.
PE vs Market: SO is good value based on its PE Ratio (19.8x) compared to the US market (21.5x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: SO is poor value based on its PEG Ratio (2.3x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: SO is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (2.2x) compared to the US Electric Utilities industry average (1.8x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Southern forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 13 analysts?
8.7%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: SO's forecast earnings growth (8.7% per year) is above the savings rate (2%).
Earnings vs Market: SO's earnings (8.7% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the US market (19.2% per year).
High Growth Earnings: SO's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.
Revenue vs Market: SO's revenue (4.4% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (10% per year).
High Growth Revenue: SO's revenue (4.4% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: SO's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (11.7%).
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Southern performed over the past 5 years?
16.0%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: SO has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: SO's current net profit margins (15.3%) are lower than last year (22.1%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: SO's earnings have grown by 16% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: SO's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: SO had negative earnings growth (-34%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the Electric Utilities industry average (-6.9%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: SO's Return on Equity (9.5%) is considered low.
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Southern's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: SO's short term assets ($8.6B) do not cover its short term liabilities ($12.1B).
Long Term Liabilities: SO's short term assets ($8.6B) do not cover its long term liabilities ($78.3B).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: SO's debt to equity ratio (150.5%) is considered high.
Reducing Debt: SO's debt to equity ratio has increased from 129.3% to 150.5% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: SO's debt is not well covered by operating cash flow (13.7%).
Interest Coverage: SO's interest payments on its debt are not well covered by EBIT (2.9x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Southern current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
4.39%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Notable Dividend: SO's dividend (4.39%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.31%).
High Dividend: SO's dividend (4.39%) is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (3.64%)
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: SO's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: SO's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: At its current payout ratio (86.2%), SO's payments are covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: SO's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be covered by earnings (72.6% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
7.5yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Tom Fanning (63 yo)
10.25yrs
Tenure
US$27,865,185
Compensation
Mr. Thomas A. Fanning, also known as Tom, has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Southern Company since December 1, 2010 and its President of Southern Company since August 1, 2010. He ser...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Tom's total compensation ($USD27.87M) is above average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD10.58M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Tom's compensation has increased by more than 20% whilst company earnings have fallen more than 20% in the past year.
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | 10.25yrs | US$27.87m | 0.080% $ 49.1m | |
| Executive VP & CFO | 2.75yrs | US$5.48m | 0.018% $ 11.2m | |
| Chairman & CEO of Georgia Power | 6.83yrs | US$8.86m | 0.022% $ 13.4m | |
| Chairman | 2.75yrs | US$5.09m | 0.0081% $ 5.0m | |
| Chairman | no data | US$8.23m | 0.015% $ 9.4m | |
| Chief Accounting Officer & Comptroller | 8yrs | no data | 0.0027% $ 1.7m | |
| Chief Information Officer & Executive VP | 5.67yrs | no data | no data | |
| Director of Investor Relations | no data | no data | no data | |
| Executive VP | 7yrs | no data | 0.012% $ 7.4m | |
| Vice President of Human Resources | 10.42yrs | no data | no data | |
| Head of Media | no data | no data | no data | |
| Executive Vice President & President of External Affairs | 6.33yrs | no data | 0.0023% $ 1.4m |
7.5yrs
Average Tenure
56yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: SO's management team is seasoned and experienced (7.5 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | 10.25yrs | US$27.87m | 0.080% $ 49.1m | |
| Chairman & CEO of Georgia Power | 6.83yrs | US$8.86m | 0.022% $ 13.4m | |
| Chairman | 2.75yrs | US$5.09m | 0.0081% $ 5.0m | |
| Chairman | no data | US$8.23m | 0.015% $ 9.4m | |
| Chairman | 9.67yrs | US$6.46m | 0.0096% $ 5.9m | |
| Chairman | 4.58yrs | no data | 0.0069% $ 4.2m | |
| Independent Director | 6.08yrs | US$270.00k | 0.000070% $ 43.2k | |
| Independent Director | 13.25yrs | US$261.67k | 0.015% $ 9.3m | |
| Independent Director | 22.17yrs | US$250.00k | no data | |
| Independent Director | 15.08yrs | US$270.00k | 0.00089% $ 548.7k | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$270.00k | 0.000050% $ 30.8k | |
| Lead Independent Director | 2.83yrs | US$290.00k | no data |
8.3yrs
Average Tenure
63.5yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: SO's board of directors are considered experienced (8.3 years average tenure).
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: SO insiders have only sold shares in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Top Shareholders
Company Information
The Southern Company's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: The Southern Company
- Ticker: SO
- Exchange: NYSE
- Founded: 1945
- Industry: Electric Utilities
- Sector: Utilities
- Market Cap: US$61.653b
- Shares outstanding: 1.06b
- Website: https://www.southerncompany.com
Number of Employees
Location
- The Southern Company
- 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, N.W.
- Atlanta
- Georgia
- 30308
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SO | NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Jan 1968 |
| SOT | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | DE | EUR | Jan 1968 |
| 0L8A | LSE (London Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | GB | USD | Jan 1968 |
| SOT | ETLX (Eurotlx) | Yes | Common Stock | IT | EUR | Jan 1968 |
| SOUT | WBAG (Wiener Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | AT | EUR | Jan 1968 |
| SO * | BMV (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores) | Yes | Common Stock | MX | MXN | Jan 1968 |
| T1SO34 | BOVESPA (Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo) | BDR EACH REPR 1 COM | BR | BRL | Dec 2019 |
Biography
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates in four segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments...
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2021/03/08 00:52 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2021/03/05 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2020/12/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2020/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.