Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for Southern

The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Southern in a note issued to investors on Monday, January 20th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $1.06 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.05. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.04 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southern’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.28 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.29 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.05 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.13 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.55 EPS.

SO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $84.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $92.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.36. Southern has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SO. Novare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 6,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. MKT Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $450,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 127,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,487,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lifted its stake in Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 27,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.