Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Receives $99.91 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.0882.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southern from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Key Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s Georgia Power subsidiary signed a long-term power agreement with OpenAI, which could support future electricity demand and reinforce the company’s role in powering AI data center growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced it is joining President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, highlighting a customer-first approach focused on rate stability, grid reliability, and responsible growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on near-term earnings, with Zacks saying Southern may have the right setup to beat upcoming results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $0.60 from $0.55, but kept an Underweight rating and a $79 price target, so the update is mixed despite the higher forecast. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp also trimmed estimates for Southern’s Q3 2026, FY2028, FY2029, and FY2030 earnings, which may weigh on sentiment even though the changes were modest. Article Title

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE SO opened at $97.29 on Friday. Southern has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $109.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Company Profile

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.