Analysts Set Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) PT at $94.91

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.1389.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Sara Bay Financial raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and strong top-line growth: Q4 revenue of ~$6.98B topped consensus (~$6.41B) and was up ~10% year-over-year, showing demand strength that supports future cash flow. Compared to Estimates, Southern Co. (SO) Q4 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat near-term guidance: Southern raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to $4.50–4.60 and issued a Q1 2026 guide of $1.20 — Q1 guidance materially above consensus — which suggests management expects strong early-year earnings momentum. Southern Company reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Company materials released: slide deck and earnings presentation / call were published for investors to dig into drivers and assumptions behind guidance and capex plans. These materials clarify the outlook but may not change sentiment immediately. The Southern Company 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed profitability signals: Adjusted EPS came in at $0.55 vs. a $0.56 consensus (a modest miss), which, together with differing reported GAAP figures, has raised questions about underlying margin trends. Southern Co. (SO) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Raised multi-year spending plan and profit commentary: Reuters flags that Southern forecast annual profit below some analysts’ expectations while raising its five-year spending plan to support large-load customers (data centers, industrials). Higher capex and near-term profit pressure are risk factors for margins and credit metrics. Southern Co forecasts annual profit below estimates, raises spending plan

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.28. The firm has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.20 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

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.