Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases 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 estimate of 4.570. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2028 guidance to 5.250-5.450 EPS.

Southern Stock Down 1.9%

Southern stock traded down $1.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,392,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,305,312. The stock has a market cap of $106.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.21.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding the $1.01 analyst consensus and rising from $0.91 a year earlier. The company also reported $1.2 billion in quarterly earnings, or $1.03 per reported share, versus $0.9 billion, or $0.80 per share, in the prior-year period. Southern Co. Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s six-month earnings increased to $2.5 billion, or $2.24 per share, from $2.2 billion, or $2.01 per share, a sign of year-to-date profit growth. Southern Company Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Georgia Power completed the Moody Battery Energy Storage System, supporting solar integration and grid reliability. Southern is also expanding storage capacity across Georgia, which could strengthen its regulated-utility growth profile. Southern Completes Moody Battery Project
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to view Southern as a potential AI and data-center electricity-demand beneficiary, supported by large-load contracts and a reported 25-year power agreement with OpenAI. Southern Company AI Data Center Opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of the $7.23 billion consensus and was essentially flat year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Southern Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s 2026 EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60 brackets a $4.57 consensus estimate, while third-quarter guidance of $1.65 is below the $1.67 forecast. This modestly cautious outlook likely contributed to the stock’s weakness despite the quarterly beat.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,889,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $600,734,000 after purchasing an additional 78,571 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 4,573,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,827,000 after buying an additional 95,503 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,095,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,891,000 after buying an additional 190,385 shares in the last quarter. 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.