Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.500-4.600 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 4.570. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2028 guidance to 5.250-5.450 EPS.

Southern Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:SO opened at $96.24 on Thursday. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 1.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 4,573,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $398,827,000 after purchasing an additional 95,503 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd 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. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 190,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.