What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Southern Q3 Earnings?

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.42 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.40. 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 $0.54 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.21 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.24 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.81 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $88.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. Southern has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.26. The firm has a market cap of $97.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $232,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Southern by 196.2% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 7,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Southern by 64.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 548,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,451,000 after purchasing an additional 215,029 shares during the period. Finally, Geller Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

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.