Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for Southern Earnings

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 12th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now expects that the utilities provider will earn $4.27 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $4.29. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.11 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion.

SO has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.54.

Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

SO stock opened at $90.22 on Monday. Southern has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.26 and a 200 day moving average of $87.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $608,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Southern by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $387,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $564,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in Southern by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 24,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,057,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

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.