Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases FY 2028 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) updated its FY 2028 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 5.250-5.450 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 5.250. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.500-4.600 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.21.

Southern Stock Down 1.9%

Southern stock traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,392,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,305,312. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.99. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $106.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Key Stories Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding the $1.01 analyst consensus and rising from $0.91 a year earlier. The company also reported $1.2 billion in quarterly earnings, or $1.03 per reported share, versus $0.9 billion, or $0.80 per share, in the prior-year period. Southern Co. Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s six-month earnings increased to $2.5 billion, or $2.24 per share, from $2.2 billion, or $2.01 per share, a sign of year-to-date profit growth. Southern Company Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Georgia Power completed the Moody Battery Energy Storage System, supporting solar integration and grid reliability. Southern is also expanding storage capacity across Georgia, which could strengthen its regulated-utility growth profile. Southern Completes Moody Battery Project
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to view Southern as a potential AI and data-center electricity-demand beneficiary, supported by large-load contracts and a reported 25-year power agreement with OpenAI. Southern Company AI Data Center Opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of the $7.23 billion consensus and was essentially flat year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Southern Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s 2026 EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60 brackets a $4.57 consensus estimate, while third-quarter guidance of $1.65 is below the $1.67 forecast. This modestly cautious outlook likely contributed to the stock’s weakness despite the quarterly beat.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Southern by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,889,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $600,734,000 after purchasing an additional 78,571 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 4,573,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,827,000 after purchasing an additional 95,503 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,095,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,891,000 after buying an additional 190,385 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern

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.