FY2026 EPS Estimates for Southern Lowered by Seaport Res Ptn

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their FY2026 EPS estimates for Southern in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 28th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now expects that the utilities provider will earn $4.61 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.64. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2028 earnings at $5.30 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.53.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $95.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.23. The firm has a market cap of $104.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. Southern has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SO. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 57,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,747,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 61,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,089,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 96,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,966,000 after buying an additional 32,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

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.