Q2 2025 EPS Estimates for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Cut by Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued on Wednesday, September 18th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.02 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.04. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.07 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SO. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.71.

Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of SO opened at $88.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $86.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.65. Southern has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $90.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.7% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 187,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $762,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $372,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $27,439,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $325,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. 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.