Zacks Research Brokers Lower Earnings Estimates for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Southern in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, September 18th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $4.25 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.29. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2026 earnings at $4.54 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Wolfe Research cut Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE SO opened at $89.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.95. Southern has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $90.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Southern’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Southern by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 3,628.6% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.