FY2026 EPS Estimates for Southern Raised by Erste Group Bank

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for Southern in a report released on Wednesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $4.58 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.57. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.58 per share.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis.

SO has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $91.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.60 and a 200-day moving average of $94.23. Southern has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $104.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.