Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases FY 2028 Earnings Guidance

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Evercore raised Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.47.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.22. 3,761,771 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,637,304. Southern has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $108.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Adjusted EPS of $1.32 topped consensus ($1.21) and revenue of $8.40B beat estimates, helped by higher power demand; these results underscore resilient fundamentals for the utility. Reuters: Southern Co beats first-quarter profit estimates PR Newswire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and valuation chatter — Wells Fargo recently bumped its price target to $99, reflecting some analyst confidence in Southern’s earnings power and long-term strategy. Yahoo Finance: Why Southern Company May Be Quietly Gaining Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials available — The earnings call transcript and presentation provide management color on demand trends, rate cases and capital plan execution for 2026–2028; useful for modeling but not immediately market-moving. InsiderMonkey: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha: Q1 Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context — Some research (Zacks) highlights peers like Vistra as potentially more attractive on valuation or nuclear investments; useful for relative positioning but not a direct catalyst. Zacks: Vistra or Southern Co.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance was a headwind — Southern updated FY2026 EPS to $4.50–4.60 (consensus ~4.57) and Q2 guidance to $1.00 (vs. ~1.02 consensus), with Q2 explicitly light of Street expectations; that guidance softness likely pressured the stock. PR Newswire: Guidance Update
• Negative Sentiment: Accounting nuance and headline EPS confusion — GAAP EPS presented at $1.21 with adjusted EPS $1.32; investors often react to headline GAAP numbers or to perceived one-time adjustments, adding short-term volatility. PR Newswire: Q1 Release (GAAP vs Adjusted)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.