What is KeyCorp's Forecast for Southern Q2 Earnings?

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - KeyCorp issued their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Southern in a report issued on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.19 per share for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a "Underweight" rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern's FY2025 earnings at $4.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.56 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on SO. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.21.

Southern Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE SO traded up $1.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $88.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,181,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,428,817. Southern has a 1-year low of $76.64 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.16.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $326,000. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 292,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,095,000 after purchasing an additional 25,200 shares in the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 89,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,363,000 after purchasing an additional 8,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.