Southern FY2027 EPS Estimate Increased by Erste Group Bank

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southern in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $4.92 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.91. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on SO. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.40 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.80. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

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.