Southern (SO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$83.74 +0.02 (+0.02%)

Closing price 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$84.24 +0.50 (+0.60%)

As of 07:23 PM Eastern

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

Consensus Rating

Hold

Based on 20 Analyst Ratings

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

$100.08
19.52% Upside

According to the 20 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Southern, the average price target is $100.08. 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 19.52% from the current price of $83.74.

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

Type	Current Forecast 10/5/25 to 10/5/26	1 Month Ago 9/5/25 to 9/5/26	3 Months Ago 7/7/25 to 7/7/26	1 Year Ago 10/5/24 to 10/5/25
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)	4 Buy rating(s)
Hold	11 Hold rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)
Sell	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$100.08	$100.09	$99.26	$95.08
Forecasted Upside	19.52% Upside	13.87% Upside	2.11% Upside	0.55% Upside
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Hold	Hold

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.

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.

Southern Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Southern	Utilities Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	2.25	2.38	2.53
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	19.52% Upside	65.12% Upside	20.68% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Neutral News See Recent SO News	Positive News	Neutral News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

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Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

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Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
9/25/2026	Citigroup 4 of 5 stars	Ryan Levine 1 of 5 stars	Lower Target	Buy	$114.00 ➝ $104.00	+25.49%
9/18/2026	Morgan Stanley 3 of 5 stars	Stephen Byrd 5 of 5 stars	Lower Target	Underweight	$89.00 ➝ $85.00	-0.77%
8/13/2026	Truist Financial 3 of 5 stars	Richard Sunderland Not Rated	Lower Target	Hold	$100.00 ➝ $97.00	+4.68%
7/31/2026	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Set Target		$106.00	+13.21%
7/29/2026	Weiss Ratings Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy (B)
7/27/2026	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	James Thalacker Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Outperform	$102.00 ➝ $104.00	+6.98%
7/23/2026	KeyCorp Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Sophie Karp Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Sector Weight ➝ Underweight	$79.00	-17.54%
7/16/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jeremy Tonet Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Neutral	$101.00 ➝ $104.00	+8.69%
6/22/2026	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Set Target		$99.00	+5.55%
6/18/2026	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Nicholas Campanella Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Equal Weight	$99.00 ➝ $98.00	+5.79%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for SO and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
5/1/2026	Raymond James Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Outperform	$104.00	+7.34%
3/6/2026	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Shelby Tucker Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$108.00 ➝ $112.00	+15.24%
3/5/2026	Evercore Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Nicholas Amicucci Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	In-Line ➝ Outperform	$111.00	+13.65%
2/20/2026	Scotiabank Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Andrew Weisel Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Sector Perform	$101.00 ➝ $103.00	+8.81%
2/20/2026	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Shahriar Pourreza Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target	Underweight ➝ Equal Weight	$84.00 ➝ $96.00	+0.88%
1/23/2026	Royal Bank Of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Stephen D'Ambrisi Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Sector Perform	$105.00	+20.24%
12/17/2025	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Daniel Ford Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral	$98.00 ➝ $94.00	+9.82%
11/6/2025	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Neutral	$98.00	+7.17%
10/21/2025	BTIG Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Neutral
10/17/2025	LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Paul Fremont Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Neutral	$99.50 ➝ $102.50	+4.12%
5/2/2025	Guggenheim Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	S. Pourreza Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral	$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 Monday at 07:27 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 Thursday, October 1, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Southern pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Southern
Bull Case

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

The stock is currently trading at $83.44, which is near its 52-week low of $81.69, offering a potential entry point for value-oriented investors who believe the market has overreacted to recent sector-wide declines.
The company recently signed a significant agreement with Google to support nuclear uprates at Plants Hatch and Vogtle, a deal projected to add approximately 96 megawatts of capacity and provide about $900 million in benefits to customers, signaling strong long-term demand from data centers.
Investors can benefit from a stable dividend yield of 3.69%, supported by a payout ratio of 72.90%, which provides a reliable income stream that is attractive in a high-interest-rate environment where Treasury yields are climbing past 5%.
The company demonstrated strong earnings performance in the most recent quarter, reporting $1.13 in earnings per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12, indicating operational efficiency and the ability to exceed market expectations.
With a beta of 0.33, The Southern Company exhibits significantly lower volatility than the broader market, making it a defensive holding that can help stabilize a portfolio during periods of economic uncertainty or market turbulence.

Southern
Bear Case

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

The stock has experienced a significant decline, hitting a new 52-week low of $81.91 in late September 2026, and is currently trading well below its 50-day moving average of $89.69, suggesting persistent downward momentum and potential further losses.
The company carries a high debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, which indicates a substantial level of leverage that could strain financial flexibility and increase vulnerability to rising interest rates or economic downturns.
Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus rating of "Hold" from twenty firms, including two sell ratings and eleven hold ratings, reflecting uncertainty about the stock's near-term upside potential despite the average price target of $100.08.
Recent revenue performance has been sluggish, with the most recent quarter showing revenue of $6.98 billion, which fell short of the analyst estimate of $7.23 billion, and year-over-year revenue growth was only 0.1%, raising concerns about top-line growth stagnation.
Short interest has been increasing, with shares shorted rising to 28,961,449 in the most recent reporting period, indicating that a significant portion of the market is betting against the stock's future 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 $100.08, with a high forecast of $112.00 and a low forecast of $79.00.

20 Wall Street 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 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 19.52% 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, Citigroup, 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 2.38. Learn more on how SO compares to other companies.

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MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Southern analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/25/2026.

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Southern (SO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

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

Consensus Rating

Consensus Price Target

SO Analyst Ratings Over Time

SO Analyst Recommendations By Month

SO Price Targets by Month

Southern Stock vs. The Competition

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Should I Buy Southern Stock? SO Pros and Cons Explained

Southern
Bull Case

Southern
Bear Case

SO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

Today's Analyst Ratings

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More Ratings Tools

Brokerages With Southern Recommendations

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Southern (SO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

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

Consensus Rating

Consensus Price Target

SO Analyst Ratings Over Time

SO Analyst Recommendations By Month

SO Price Targets by Month

Southern Stock vs. The Competition

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Should I Buy Southern Stock? SO Pros and Cons Explained

Southern Bull Case

Southern Bear Case

SO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Southern's forecast for 2026?

Should I buy or sell Southern stock right now?

Does Southern's stock price have much upside?

Has Southern been downgraded by Wall Street analysts recently?

What analysts cover Southern?

Do Wall Street analysts like Southern more than its competitors?

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

Today's Analyst Ratings

Top-Rated Stocks

More Ratings Tools

Brokerages With Southern Recommendations

MarketBeat All Access Features

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools

Southern
Bull Case

Southern
Bear Case