Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases FY 2028 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) updated its FY 2028 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 5.250-5.450 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 5.250. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.500-4.600 EPS.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $96.24 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $131,968,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 790.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.