Southern (NYSE:SO) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern to “sell” from “hold,” while broader analyst sentiment remains “hold,” with seven buys, eleven holds and two sells. The consensus price target is $100.26 versus the stock’s $94.79 opening price.
• Southern’s second-quarter EPS of $1.13 exceeded the $1.01 consensus, but revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of expectations and grew just 0.1% year over year.
• Near-term guidance was cautious: third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.65 was below the $1.67 consensus, although planned generation, battery-storage projects and potential AI-related power demand could support longer-term growth.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.26.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.79 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $94.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $106.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SO. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its stake in Southern by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,667,000 after acquiring an additional 16,878 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.