Southern (NYSE:SO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

SO has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $94.79 on Friday. Southern has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $106.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.59 and its 200 day moving average is $94.00.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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% in 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 stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in 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 lifted its holdings 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Southern News

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.

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.