Southern FY2026 EPS Estimate Boosted by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised Southern’s FY2026 EPS estimate to $4.60 from $4.58, slightly above the analyst consensus of $4.59.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with seven Buy, eleven Hold and two Sell ratings; Southern carries a consensus Hold rating and a $100.09 target price.
• Southern recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus $1.01 forecast, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equal to a 3.4% yield.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a report issued on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now expects that the utilities provider will earn $4.60 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.58. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.59 per share.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SO. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

SO opened at $88.18 on Monday. Southern has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.42.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Southern by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,150,000 after acquiring an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 29.2% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Southern by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 158,292 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,803,000 after acquiring an additional 10,531 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Southern Company Profile

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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