FY2025 EPS Estimates for Southern Lowered by Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Southern in a report issued on Wednesday, March 12th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $4.27 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.29. 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 $0.60 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.11 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.00.

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Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.17 on Monday, hitting $89.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,248,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,279,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $98.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. Southern has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $86.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.22.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $315,290,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 72.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,570,000 after buying an additional 1,293,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 562.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,679,000 after buying an additional 1,162,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

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.