Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for Southern Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Southern in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.53 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.42. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's Q3 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.01 EPS.

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.21.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $2.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,113,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,485,375. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.87 and a 200 day moving average of $87.22. Southern has a one year low of $76.64 and a one year high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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 given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.6% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 289,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,631,000 after purchasing an additional 24,564 shares during the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 18,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,509 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $465,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern

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.