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Southern (SO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Southern logo
$83.32 -0.15 (-0.18%)
As of 03:43 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Southern - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
2
Hold
11
Buy
7

Based on 20 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Southern in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 20 analysts, 2 have given a sell rating, 11 have given a hold rating, and 7 have given a buy rating for SO.

Consensus Price Target

$99.85
19.84% Upside
According to the 20 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Southern, the average price target is $99.85. The highest price target for SO is $112.00, while the lowest price target for SO is $79.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 19.84% from the current price of $83.32.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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SO Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
9/24/25 to 9/24/26
1 Month Ago
8/25/25 to 8/25/26
3 Months Ago
6/26/25 to 6/26/26
1 Year Ago
9/24/24 to 9/24/25
Strong Buy
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
7 Buy rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
Hold
11 Hold rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
12 Hold rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
Sell
2 Sell rating(s)
2 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$99.85$100.09$99.26$94.92
Forecasted Upside19.84% Upside11.27% Upside2.33% Upside0.56% Upside
Consensus RatingHoldHoldHoldHold

SO Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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SO Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
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Southern Stock vs. The Competition

TypeSouthernUtilities CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.25
2.37
2.53
Consensus RatingHoldHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside19.77% Upside70.21% Upside19.25% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Neutral News

See Recent SO News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
9/18/2026
Morgan Stanley logo
Morgan Stanley
3 of 5 stars
Stephen Byrd
Stephen Byrd
5 of 5 stars
Lower TargetUnderweight$89.00 ➝ $85.00-0.77%
8/13/2026
Truist Financial Corporation logo
Truist Financial
3 of 5 stars
Lower TargetHold$100.00 ➝ $97.00+4.68%
7/31/2026
Mizuho logo
Mizuho
3 of 5 stars
 Set Target$106.00+13.21%
7/29/2026 Reiterated RatingBuy (B)
7/27/2026Boost TargetOutperform$102.00 ➝ $104.00+6.98%
7/23/2026DowngradeSector Weight ➝ Underweight$79.00-17.54%
7/16/2026Boost TargetNeutral$101.00 ➝ $104.00+8.69%
6/22/2026 Set Target$99.00+5.55%
6/18/2026Lower TargetEqual Weight$99.00 ➝ $98.00+5.79%
5/1/2026 Reiterated RatingOutperform$104.00+7.34%
4/10/2026 Reiterated RatingBuy
3/6/2026Boost TargetBuy$108.00 ➝ $112.00+15.24%
3/5/2026UpgradeIn-Line ➝ Outperform$111.00+13.65%
2/20/2026Boost TargetSector Perform$101.00 ➝ $103.00+8.81%
2/20/2026Set TargetUnderweight ➝ Equal Weight$84.00 ➝ $96.00+0.88%
1/23/2026Reiterated RatingSector Perform$105.00+20.24%
12/17/2025Lower TargetNeutral$98.00 ➝ $94.00+9.82%
11/6/2025 DowngradeBuy ➝ Neutral$98.00+7.17%
10/21/2025 Initiated CoverageNeutral
10/17/2025Reiterated RatingBuy ➝ Neutral$99.50 ➝ $102.50+4.12%
5/2/2025Reiterated RatingNeutral$93.00 ➝ $93.00+2.16%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Thursday at 03:43 PM ET.


Should I Buy Southern Stock? SO Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Southern pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Southern
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in The Southern Company:

  • The Southern Company recently signed a significant agreement with Google to support upgrades at two of its nuclear plants, which is projected to add approximately 96 megawatts of electricity capacity and provide about $900 million in benefits for customers, highlighting the company's strategic position in meeting the growing power demands of the tech sector.
  • With a current stock price of $85.17, The Southern Company offers a dividend yield of 3.55%, providing a steady income stream for investors, as the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing an annualized payout of $3.04.
  • The company demonstrated strong financial performance in its most recent quarterly earnings report, where it reported earnings per share of $1.13, significantly beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.01, while maintaining a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.
  • Investors can benefit from the company's low beta of 0.33, which indicates that The Southern Company's stock price is less volatile than the broader market, making it a potentially stable holding for risk-averse investors seeking defensive exposure.
  • The Southern Company continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio, recently receiving approval for 1,137 megawatts of new solar power purchase agreements through the CARES program, which is the largest solar procurement in the company's history and supports long-term growth in clean energy.

Southern
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in The Southern Company for these reasons:

  • The stock is currently trading at $85.17, which is below its 50-day simple moving average of $91.57 and 200-day simple moving average of $93.70, suggesting that the stock is in a downtrend and may face further downward pressure in the near term.
  • Several prominent financial institutions have recently downgraded their outlook on the stock, including Morgan Stanley, which lowered its price target to $85.00 and assigned an underweight rating, and KeyCorp, which cut its rating to underweight with a target price of $79.00, indicating a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term performance.
  • The company's debt-to-equity ratio stands at 1.62, which is relatively high for a utility company, suggesting that The Southern Company carries a significant amount of debt relative to its equity, potentially increasing financial risk if interest rates rise or earnings decline.
  • Despite beating earnings estimates, The Southern Company's revenue of $6.98 billion in the most recent quarter fell short of the analyst consensus estimate of $7.23 billion, indicating potential challenges in meeting revenue growth expectations and generating top-line growth.
  • The stock has a P/E ratio of 20.42, which is higher than the average for the utility sector, suggesting that the stock may be overvalued relative to its earnings, and investors may be paying a premium for growth that is not currently being realized in revenue performance.

SO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 20 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Southern is $99.85, with a high forecast of $112.00 and a low forecast of $79.00.

20 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Southern in the last twelve months. There are currently 2 sell ratings, 11 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "hold" SO shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in SO, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

According to analysts, Southern's stock has a predicted upside of 19.84% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Southern's stock had 1 downgrade by analysts.

Southern has been rated by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets, JPMorgan Chase & Co., KeyCorp, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Truist Financial, and Weiss Ratings in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Southern less than other "utilities" companies. The consensus rating score for Southern is 2.25 while the average consensus rating score for "utilities" companies is 2.37. Learn more on how SO compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Southern analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/18/2026.
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