Market Update (NYSE:SO): Southern Company unveils new brand

[PR Newswire] – ATLANTA, July 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — As Southern Company (SO) expands its business model to increase its natural gas presence, the company today unveiled a new corporate brand. The company also announced that its newest subsidiary, AGL Resources, has been renamed Southern Company Gas. “Southern Company’s recent growth in natural gas has expanded our business beyond electricity, providing an excellent opportunity to review our brand,” said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. Read more on this. Southern Company (SO) , valued at $50.60B, opened this morning at $53.89. Looking at today’s trading action, the company’s one day range from $53.47 to $53.94 with a one year range of $41.81 to $54.49. Southern (SO) shares are currently priced at 19.00x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 15.32x earnings multiple for the same period. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $2.24 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.26%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 11 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $0.69 per share, which would be $0.02 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $2.85 is a $0.04 setback when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $4.54 Billion. If reported, that would be a 4.61% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Scotia Howard Weil Initiated SO at Sector Perform (May 13, 2016). Previously, Mizuho Initiated SO at to Buy. When considering if the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $50.40, which is 6.48% below where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:SO) Similar Articles: Market Update: The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Southern Company subsidiary acquires Henrietta Solar Project Market Update: The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Southern Company subsidiary acquires East Pecos Solar Facility in Texas Market Update: The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Southern Company announces leadership moves