Market Update: The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Southern Company elects Larry D. Thompson its lead independent director

[PR Newswire] – ATLANTA, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Southern Company today announced the election of Larry D. Thompson as lead independent director of its board of directors. A member of the Southern Company board of directors from 2010 through 2012, Thompson rejoined the company’s board in 2014. Thompson previously served as deputy attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice and led the department’s National Security Coordination Council. Read more on this. Southern Company (SO) , with a current market cap of $45.61B, started trading this morning at $48.42. During today’s session, SO traded between $48.20 to $48.77 and has traded between $41.40 and $51.79 over the past 12 months. SO shares are currently priced at 16.87x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 14.79x earnings multiple. The company pays shareholders $2.24 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 4.66%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 10 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. Furthermore, our analysis shows the full-year EPS estimate to be $2.85, which would be a $0.04 setback when compared to the last year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $4.53 Billion. If realized, that would be a 4.38% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Scotia Howard Weil Initiated SO at Sector Perform (May 13, 2016). Previously, Mizuho Initiated SO at to Buy. Investors should keep in mind is that the average price target is $49.47, which is 2.17% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:SO) Similar Articles: 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 Stock Update (NYSE:SO): Southern Company subsidiary awarded grant to lead advanced nuclear technology development