Southern (NYSE:SO) Upgraded at Evercore

Evercore upgraded shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $111.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

SO has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Southern has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $107.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Southern

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

Southern Company Profile

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.