Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for Southern

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.26 per share 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 analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $82.86 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. Southern has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. AMG National Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $646,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 37.4% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 37,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 10,091 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 28.9% in the second quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.7% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 377,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,223 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.