Erste Group Bank Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Southern

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for Southern in a research report issued on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.57 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.56. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.58 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $4,852,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $260,966,000 after purchasing an additional 47,451 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 7.2% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 202,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

About Southern

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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