Southern (NYSE:SO) Issues FY 2028 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) issued an update on 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 earnings per share estimate of 5.250. Southern also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.700-4.700 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Eight equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.24.

Southern Trading Up 0.4%

SO stock traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $93.50. 15,837,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,913,863. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.30. Southern has a twelve month low of $81.69 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS of $1.94 topped the $1.71 consensus, while revenue of $8.84 billion exceeded the $8.38 billion estimate and rose 13% year over year. Separately, Southern reported GAAP earnings per share of $1.77, up from $1.55 a year earlier. Southern Co. Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates Southern Company reports third-quarter 2026 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $4.70 is above the $4.59 consensus, signaling a stronger annual outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: 2028 EPS guidance of $5.25–$5.45 matches consensus at the low end and exceeds it at the midpoint, suggesting potential for longer-term earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $0.30 is below the $0.44 consensus, a near-term shortfall that could temper the positive reaction to the quarterly beat.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.