Southern (NYSE:SO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore

Southern (NYSE:SO) was upgraded by Evercore from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $111.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock. Evercore’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.55% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.6%

SO stock opened at $97.75 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.81 and a 200-day moving average of $91.49. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $107.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $593,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,848,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $161,249,000 after purchasing an additional 103,518 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in Southern by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 12,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 2,203 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded SO from “in-line” to “outperform” and set a $111 price target (~13.5% upside vs. the recent price). The upgrade signals increased conviction from a sell‑side shop and likely lifted buying interest. Street Insider
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its multi‑year earnings outlook for Southern — notably boosting FY2029 to $5.76/share (from $5.52) and lifting FY2026–FY2030 estimates across the board — which implies stronger future cash flow and supports higher valuation multiples. These upward revisions can justify more bullish price targets and help underpin the stock. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp left a “Sector Weight” rating on SO despite raising EPS forecasts; that suggests the firm is more confident in underlying earnings trends but not ready to move to an outright buy stance, so the impact may be more measured than a full‑throated upgrade. MarketBeat

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.