KeyCorp Has Bullish Estimate for Southern Q3 Earnings

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp boosted their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Southern in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 15th. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.50 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.11. KeyCorp has a “Underweight” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern’s FY2025 earnings at $4.27 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.88 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.18 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.57.

Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $98.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.3% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial boosted its stake in Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.