The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Southern in a research note issued on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.42 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.40. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.21 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.24 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.81 EPS.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on SO. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on SO
Southern Price Performance
SO stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.11. The company had a trading volume of 974,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,545,579. The company has a market capitalization of $99.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. Southern has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.82%.
Insider Activity at Southern
In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern 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 completion of 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PFW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Griffith & Werner Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 6.4% in the first quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. now owns 59,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in shares of Southern by 11.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 98,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,085,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Southern
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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