Southern (NYSE:SO) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 4.500-4.600 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 4.450. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.200-1.20 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $90.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.31. The stock has a market cap of $100.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45. Southern has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 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.