Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.650-1.650 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.670. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.500-4.600 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.26.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $106.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Key Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings beat expectations: Southern reported adjusted EPS of $1.13, above the $1.01 analyst consensus and up from $0.91 a year earlier. The company’s reported earnings were $1.2 billion, or $1.03 per share, compared with $0.9 billion, or $0.80 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Southern Co. Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates Southern Company Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Capacity expansion is positioning the utility for load growth: Georgia Power is developing nearly 1,500 megawatts of new natural-gas generation and 500 megawatts of battery storage at Plant Bowen. The projects could support reliability and future demand from industrial customers and data centers, although they also require substantial capital investment. Georgia Power and Officials Celebrate Plant Bowen Investments
• Positive Sentiment: Energy-storage and AI demand provide longer-term catalysts: Georgia Power completed the Moody Battery Energy Storage System, expanding Southern’s regulated storage platform. Analysts also point to large-load contracts and a reported 25-year OpenAI power agreement as potential drivers of future utility demand. Southern Completes Moody Battery Project Southern Company AI Data Center Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue growth remained weak: Quarterly revenue was $6.98 billion, below the $7.23 billion consensus and up only 0.1% year over year, tempering the significance of the EPS beat. Southern Q2 Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance was slightly cautious: Third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.65 was below the $1.67 consensus, while the $4.50–$4.60 full-year 2026 range brackets but centers below the $4.57 estimate. The 2028 range of $5.25–$5.45, however, is at least in line with current expectations.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

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

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.