Southern (SO) Competitors $92.22 +0.39 (+0.42%) Closing price 07/1/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$92.46 +0.24 (+0.26%) As of 09:06 AM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock SO vs. AEP, LNT, ATO, CMS, D, DUK, ED, NI, WEC, and NEEShould you be buying Southern stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Southern include American Electric Power (AEP), Alliant Energy (LNT), Atmos Energy (ATO), CMS Energy (CMS), Dominion Energy (D), Duke Energy (DUK), Consolidated Edison (ED), NiSource (NI), WEC Energy Group (WEC), and NextEra Energy (NEE). These companies are all part of the "utilities" sector. Southern vs. Its Competitors American Electric Power Alliant Energy Atmos Energy CMS Energy Dominion Energy Duke Energy Consolidated Edison NiSource WEC Energy Group NextEra Energy American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) and Southern (NYSE:SO) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability. Does the media prefer AEP or SO? In the previous week, Southern had 3 more articles in the media than American Electric Power. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for Southern and 24 mentions for American Electric Power. Southern's average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat American Electric Power's score of 1.25 indicating that Southern is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment American Electric Power 19 Very Positive mention(s) 2 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Southern 25 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Is AEP or SO more profitable? Southern has a net margin of 16.54% compared to American Electric Power's net margin of 13.73%. Southern's return on equity of 12.70% beat American Electric Power's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets American Electric Power13.73% 11.68% 3.08% Southern 16.54%12.70%3.22% Which has better valuation and earnings, AEP or SO? Southern has higher revenue and earnings than American Electric Power. American Electric Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioAmerican Electric Power$19.72B2.83$2.97B$5.1920.11Southern$26.72B3.79$4.40B$4.1922.01 Is AEP or SO a better dividend stock? American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power pays out 71.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southern pays out 70.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. American Electric Power has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Southern has raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years. Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in AEP or SO? 75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.1% of Southern shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Southern shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Do analysts prefer AEP or SO? American Electric Power currently has a consensus price target of $108.31, indicating a potential upside of 3.75%. Southern has a consensus price target of $92.93, indicating a potential upside of 0.78%. Given American Electric Power's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe American Electric Power is more favorable than Southern.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score American Electric Power 1 Sell rating(s) 7 Hold rating(s) 5 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.31Southern 1 Sell rating(s) 10 Hold rating(s) 5 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.25 Which has more volatility & risk, AEP or SO? American Electric Power has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. SummarySouthern beats American Electric Power on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Southern News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for SO and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding SO and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart SO vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricSouthernUTIL IndustryUtilities SectorNYSE ExchangeMarket Cap$100.93B$24.26B$15.86B$20.43BDividend Yield3.22%3.82%5.59%3.76%P/E Ratio22.0135.6420.3927.62Price / Sales3.794.1328.7836.40Price / Cash10.368.8819.1021.79Price / Book2.762.222.164.52Net Income$4.40B$1.41B$751.09M$984.47M7 Day Performance2.03%3.03%1.38%2.61%1 Month Performance2.55%3.17%3.30%4.99%1 Year Performance18.91%25.39%17.18%13.53% Southern Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)SOSouthern4.0206 of 5 stars$92.22+0.4%$92.93+0.8%+19.8%$100.93B$26.72B22.0128,600Positive NewsAEPAmerican Electric Power4.5371 of 5 stars$102.52+0.2%$108.31+5.6%+19.6%$54.77B$19.72B19.7516,330Positive NewsLNTAlliant Energy4.3463 of 5 stars$60.36+0.1%$63.95+5.9%+20.9%$15.51B$3.98B20.822,998Positive NewsATOAtmos Energy4.3432 of 5 stars$152.78-0.1%$156.05+2.1%+32.6%$24.27B$4.17B21.225,260Positive NewsCMSCMS Energy4.3064 of 5 stars$69.03-0.2%$77.00+11.5%+19.3%$20.65B$7.52B20.488,324Positive NewsDDominion Energy3.4869 of 5 stars$55.89+1.3%$58.38+4.5%+20.1%$47.66B$14.46B20.9314,700Positive NewsDUKDuke Energy4.4906 of 5 stars$116.93+0.6%$126.94+8.6%+19.6%$90.89B$30.36B19.3926,413Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastEDConsolidated Edison4.5732 of 5 stars$98.13-0.3%$104.18+6.2%+13.4%$35.36B$15.26B18.1415,097Analyst UpgradeAnalyst RevisionNINiSource4.5526 of 5 stars$40.01+1.0%$41.50+3.7%+39.8%$18.83B$5.46B21.637,746Positive NewsWECWEC Energy Group4.1597 of 5 stars$103.09-0.2%$106.33+3.1%+34.8%$32.90B$8.60B20.107,017Positive NewsAnalyst UpgradeAnalyst RevisionNEENextEra Energy4.7391 of 5 stars$70.960.0%$84.50+19.1%+4.6%$146.07B$24.75B26.579,300Trending News Related Companies and Tools Related Companies American Electric Power Alternatives Alliant Energy Alternatives Atmos Energy Alternatives CMS Energy Alternatives Dominion Energy Alternatives Duke Energy Alternatives Consolidated Edison Alternatives NiSource Alternatives WEC Energy Group Alternatives NextEra Energy Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NYSE:SO) was last updated on 7/2/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersWhite House to reset Social Security?Elon Musk's parting DOGE gift looks set to shock America... 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