Q3 Earnings Estimate for Southern Issued By Zacks Research

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $1.26 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.23. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.12 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $83.04 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.71. The firm has a market cap of $90.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.