Southern (NYSE:SO) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from a strong sell rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $96.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.14.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $103.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. Southern has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.20 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.600 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Institutional Trading of Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,852,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in Southern by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Shelton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and strong top-line growth: Q4 revenue of ~$6.98B topped consensus (~$6.41B) and was up ~10% year-over-year, showing demand strength that supports future cash flow. Compared to Estimates, Southern Co. (SO) Q4 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat near-term guidance: Southern raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to $4.50–4.60 and issued a Q1 2026 guide of $1.20 — Q1 guidance materially above consensus — which suggests management expects strong early-year earnings momentum. Southern Company reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Company materials released: slide deck and earnings presentation / call were published for investors to dig into drivers and assumptions behind guidance and capex plans. These materials clarify the outlook but may not change sentiment immediately. The Southern Company 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed profitability signals: Adjusted EPS came in at $0.55 vs. a $0.56 consensus (a modest miss), which, together with differing reported GAAP figures, has raised questions about underlying margin trends. Southern Co. (SO) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Raised multi-year spending plan and profit commentary: Reuters flags that Southern forecast annual profit below some analysts’ expectations while raising its five-year spending plan to support large-load customers (data centers, industrials). Higher capex and near-term profit pressure are risk factors for margins and credit metrics. Southern Co forecasts annual profit below estimates, raises spending plan

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.