What is KeyCorp's Estimate for Southern Q1 Earnings?

Key Points

• KeyCorp projects Southern will report $1.23 EPS for Q1 2026 and rates the stock as "Sector Weight."
• KeyCorp's forecasts show FY2026 EPS of $4.58 rising to $6.18 by FY2030, while the MarketBeat consensus current full‑year estimate is $4.29.
• Southern declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 (annualized $2.96), implying a 3.0% yield and a payout ratio around 75%.

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Investment analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Southern in a report released on Tuesday, March 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.23 for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a "Sector Weight" rating 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.55 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.58 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.93 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $5.36 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $6.18 EPS.

SO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.64.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $97.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.42. Southern has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 16.2% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 21,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 11,432 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 13,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

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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