Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Southern (NYSE:SO) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.26.

Southern Stock Up 0.3%

SO stock opened at $94.79 on Friday. 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 $109.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.59 and a 200-day moving average of $94.05. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings beat expectations: Southern reported adjusted EPS of $1.13, above the $1.01 analyst consensus and up from $0.91 a year earlier. The company’s reported earnings were $1.2 billion, or $1.03 per share, compared with $0.9 billion, or $0.80 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Southern Co. Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates Southern Company Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Capacity expansion is positioning the utility for load growth: Georgia Power is developing nearly 1,500 megawatts of new natural-gas generation and 500 megawatts of battery storage at Plant Bowen. The projects could support reliability and future demand from industrial customers and data centers, although they also require substantial capital investment. Georgia Power and Officials Celebrate Plant Bowen Investments
• Positive Sentiment: Energy-storage and AI demand provide longer-term catalysts: Georgia Power completed the Moody Battery Energy Storage System, expanding Southern’s regulated storage platform. Analysts also point to large-load contracts and a reported 25-year OpenAI power agreement as potential drivers of future utility demand. Southern Completes Moody Battery Project Southern Company AI Data Center Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue growth remained weak: Quarterly revenue was $6.98 billion, below the $7.23 billion consensus and up only 0.1% year over year, tempering the significance of the EPS beat. Southern Q2 Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance was slightly cautious: Third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.65 was below the $1.67 consensus, while the $4.50–$4.60 full-year 2026 range brackets but centers below the $4.57 estimate. The 2028 range of $5.25–$5.45, however, is at least in line with current expectations.

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.