Southern (NYSE:SO) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Southern (NYSE:SO) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.200-1.20 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.830. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Southern also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.500-4.600 EPS.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $90.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.31. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $97.00 to $84.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SO. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Southern by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 345,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,108,000 after purchasing an additional 101,605 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 249,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $539,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,095,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,891,000 after purchasing an additional 190,385 shares during the period. 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.