KeyCorp Has Negative Estimate for Southern Q3 Earnings

Key Points

• KeyCorp lowered its Q3 2026 EPS estimate for Southern to $1.66 from $1.71 and kept an Underweight rating with a $79 price target.
• Despite the cautious outlook, Southern’s most recent quarterly results beat expectations, posting $1.32 EPS versus $1.21 expected on revenue of $8.40 billion, above estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall: Southern has a Hold consensus rating, and the stock recently traded at $96.53 with a 3.1% dividend yield.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Research analysts at KeyCorp cut their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.66 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.71. KeyCorp has a "Underweight" rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.58 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern's Q4 2026 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $5.35 EPS, FY2029 earnings at $5.75 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $6.17 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS.

SO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $96.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company's fifty day moving average price is $94.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.67.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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