Southern (NYSE:SO) Raised to Outperform at Evercore

Southern (NYSE:SO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Evercore from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $111.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock. Evercore’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $1.27 on Thursday, hitting $96.36. The company had a trading volume of 797,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,269,309. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after purchasing an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,852,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Shelton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after buying an additional 141,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its longer-term EPS outlook for Southern: modest bumps to FY2026 (to $4.58), FY2027 (to $4.93) and FY2028 (to $5.36) and a FY2030 view of $6.18 — a signal that the analyst expects gradual earnings growth over coming years. This is supportive for SO’s longer-term earnings trajectory but the changes are small. KeyCorp Research Note
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp issued quarter-by-quarter EPS forecasts for 2026 (Q1 $1.23, Q2 $1.09, Q3 $1.71, Q4 $0.55) and reiterated a “Sector Weight” rating — meaning the firm lifted some annual estimates but did not upgrade its recommendation. That combination can limit immediate upside because the analyst still expects performance roughly in line with peers. KeyCorp Research Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Mississippi Power (a Southern Company subsidiary) named Fredie Carmichael VP of Customer Solutions & Corporate Communications — routine leadership hire with limited near-term financial impact but potentially relevant for customer/PR execution. Mississippi Power names Fredie Carmichael VP

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.