The Southern Company Expected to Post FY2025 Earnings of $4.25 Per Share (NYSE:SO)

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, September 18th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.25 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.29. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's FY2026 earnings at $4.54 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $90.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,825,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,470,457. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $90.59. The firm has a market cap of $98.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.10.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $16,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 382.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 33,120 shares during the period. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 8.8% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department grew its stake in Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 514,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,095,000 after acquiring an additional 12,849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Southern's payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.