FY2027 EPS Estimates for Southern Lifted by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank nudged its FY2027 EPS estimate for Southern to $4.92 (from $4.91), which sits above the street consensus of $4.29 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock carries an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $98.08, based on 6 Buy, 12 Hold and 1 Sell recommendations.
• In the most recent quarter Southern missed EPS by $0.01 at $0.55 while revenue rose 10.1% year‑over‑year to $6.98 billion; the shares yield about 3.1% and the company has a market cap near $104 billion.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Research analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Southern in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $4.92 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.91. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.51 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.44. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Southern's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

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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