Southern (SO) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an American electric utility holding company that delivers power and related services to customers across the southeastern United States. Through its primary subsidiaries—Georgia Power, Alabama Power, Mississippi Power and Southern Power—the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity to more than nine million retail and wholesale customers. Southern Company’s energy portfolio encompasses a diverse mix of generation assets, including natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable resources such as solar and hydroelectric facilities.

Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Southern Company traces its origins to the consolidation of several regional utilities. Over the decades, it has expanded its footprint through the acquisition and development of generating facilities and utility networks. Southern Power, its wholesale power subsidiary established in 2001, invests in independent power generation projects across the broader United States, providing the company with an additional revenue stream outside its core southeastern territory.

Under the leadership of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas A. Fanning, Southern Company has pursued strategic initiatives aimed at modernizing the electric grid and reducing carbon emissions. The company is actively engaged in research and development programs focused on advanced nuclear technology, battery storage and carbon capture. Southern Company emphasizes regulatory collaboration in its territories to ensure reliable service, while also investing in customer-facing innovations such as smart meters and energy efficiency programs.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $93.53 to $94.53
• 50-Day Range: $90.91 to $96.02
• 52-Week Range: $80.46 to $96.44
• Volume: 4.44 million shs
• Average Volume: 5.17 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $103.23 billion
• P/E Ratio: 24.12
• Dividend Yield: 3.15%
• Price Target: $95.08
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Southern Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Southern scored higher than 90% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 13th out of 94 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Southern has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.23, and is based on 4 buy ratings, 8 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for Southern is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Southern has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 6.99%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Southern are expected to grow by 6.99% in the coming year, from $4.29 to $4.59 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Southern is 24.12, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 281.79.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Southern is 24.12, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 52.23.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Southern has a PEG Ratio of 3.28. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Southern has a P/B Ratio of 2.80. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.99% of the outstanding shares of Southern have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Southern has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.7.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Southern has recently decreased by 5.34%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Southern pays a meaningful dividend of 3.12%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Southern has been increasing its dividend for 25 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Southern is 76.09%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Southern will have a dividend payout ratio of 64.49% next year. This indicates that Southern will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.8 / 5
• Environmental Score: -5.96

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.99% of the outstanding shares of Southern have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Southern has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.7.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Southern has recently decreased by 5.34%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.1 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.33

News Sentiment

Southern has a news sentiment score of 1.33. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.60 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 32 news articles for Southern this week, compared to 31 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

43 people have searched for SO on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 87% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

10 people have added Southern to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 25% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Southern insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $1,250,010.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.16% of the stock of Southern is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

64.10% of the stock of Southern is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

SO Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have SO shares performed this year?

Southern's stock was trading at $82.32 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, SO shares have increased by 14.0% and is now trading at $93.8420.

How were Southern's earnings last quarter?

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) issued its earnings results on Thursday, July, 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.08. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Southern have any subsidiaries?

Southern subsidiaries include Mankato Energy Center LLC, PowerSecure International Inc, AGL Resources, Adobe Solar LLC, Alabama Power, Alabama Power Capital Trust V, Alabama Property Company, and others.

Who are Southern's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Southern include Farmers Trust Co. (0.01%), GAMMA Investing LLC, Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV and Investors Research Corp. Insiders that own company stock include Thomas A Fanning, James Y Kerr II, Stephen E Kuczynski, Martin Bernard Davis, Kimberly S Greene, Anthony L Wilson, Bryan D Anderson, David P Poroch, Christopher Cummiskey, Sloane N Drake, James Jeffrey Peoples and Sterling A Jr Spainhour.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Southern?

Shares of SO stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Southern own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Southern investors own include Chevron (CVX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), Charles Schwab (SCHW), McKesson (MCK), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Yum! Brands (YUM).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/31/2025
• Record date for 9/8 Dividend: 8/18/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/8 Dividend: 8/18/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/08/2025
• Today: 10/02/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: UTIL - ELEC PWR
• Sub-Industry: Electric Utilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:SO
• CIK: 92122
• Web: www.southerncompany.com
• Phone: (404) 506-5000
• Fax: 404-506-0344
• Employees: 28,600
• Year Founded: 1945

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Southern: $95.08
• High Price Target: $102.00
• Low Price Target: $78.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +1.3%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.23
• Research Coverage: 13 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $3.89
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 24.12
• Forward P/E Ratio: 21.87
• P/E Growth: 3.28
• Net Income: $4.40 billion
• Net Margins: 15.10%
• Pretax Margin: 18.15%
• Return on Equity: 12.09%
• Return on Assets: 3.06%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.69
• Current Ratio: 0.74
• Quick Ratio: 0.54

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $26.72 billion
• Price / Sales: 3.86
• Cash Flow: $8.78 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 10.69
• Book Value: $33.47 per share
• Price / Book: 2.80

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 1,100,050,000
• Free Float: 1,098,287,000
• Market Cap: $103.23 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.43