Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Southern Q1 Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southern in a report released on Wednesday, March 12th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $1.20 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.07. The consensus estimate for Southern's current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern's Q2 2025 earnings at $1.08 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.25 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.58 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.88 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%.

SO has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.54.

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Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.22. 3,505,432 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,284,067. The firm has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. Southern has a 52 week low of $67.53 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $86.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 94.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.82%.

Southern Company Profile

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.