Brokers Issue Forecasts for Southern’s Q3 Earnings (NYSE:SO)

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.26 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.23. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.12 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $82.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.67. Southern has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.