KeyCorp Comments on Southern’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:SO)

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) – Research analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Southern in a report issued on Tuesday, March 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.23 for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a “Sector Weight” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Southern’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Southern’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.55 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.58 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.93 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $5.36 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $6.18 EPS.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS.

SO has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.6%

Southern stock opened at $97.75 on Thursday. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $593,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Southern by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,848,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,249,000 after buying an additional 103,518 shares during the period. Bayban purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in Southern by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 12,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 2,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded SO from “in-line” to “outperform” and set a $111 price target (~13.5% upside vs. the recent price). The upgrade signals increased conviction from a sell‑side shop and likely lifted buying interest. Street Insider
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its multi‑year earnings outlook for Southern — notably boosting FY2029 to $5.76/share (from $5.52) and lifting FY2026–FY2030 estimates across the board — which implies stronger future cash flow and supports higher valuation multiples. These upward revisions can justify more bullish price targets and help underpin the stock. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp left a “Sector Weight” rating on SO despite raising EPS forecasts; that suggests the firm is more confident in underlying earnings trends but not ready to move to an outright buy stance, so the impact may be more measured than a full‑throated upgrade. MarketBeat

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.