Should You Buy Southern Co (SO) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Hold
Latest Price
88.330
1 Day change
-0.57%
52 Week Range
100.830
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/26
Southern Co is not a strong buy for a beginner, long-term investor at this time. While the company has positive financial growth and Congress trading data indicates confidence, the stock faces political and regulatory uncertainty, mixed analyst ratings, and a lack of strong technical or proprietary trading signals. The current price trend and sentiment suggest holding off for now.
Technical Analysis
The MACD is positive but contracting, RSI is neutral at 42.205, and moving averages are converging, indicating no clear trend. The stock is trading near its pivot level of 87.867, with resistance at 89.22 and support at 86.515.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Technical Summary
Sell
6
Buy
6
Positive Catalysts
Congress members have made 4 purchase transactions in the last 90 days, showing confidence.
Hedge funds have increased buying by 213.85% over the last quarter.
Southern Co was named the top electric and gas utility on FORTUNE's 2026 World's Most Admired Companies list and plans to invest $80 billion in modernization.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
Insiders are selling, with a 157.49% increase in selling activity over the last month.
Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with recent downgrades citing political and regulatory risks in Georgia.
Stock trend analysis suggests a likelihood of short-term declines (-1.49% next day, -3.25% next week, -2.2% next month).
Financial Performance
In Q3 2025, Southern Co reported revenue growth of 7.55% YoY to $7.82 billion, net income growth of 11.47% YoY to $1.71 billion, and EPS growth of 10.79% YoY to $1.54. However, gross margin decreased by 4.49% YoY to 57.84%.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Analyst ratings are mixed. RBC Capital raised its price target to $105 but maintained a Sector Perform rating. Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Underweight, citing political and regulatory risks. Price targets range from $45 to $105, with most analysts expressing caution.
Wall Street analysts forecast SO stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for SO is 92.34 USD with a low forecast of 45 USD and a high forecast of 109 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
17 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast SO stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for SO is 92.34 USD with a low forecast of 45 USD and a high forecast of 109 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
4 Buy
11 Hold
2 Sell
Hold
Current: 88.840
Low
45
Averages
92.34
High
109
Current: 88.840
Low
45
Averages
92.34
High
109
RBC Capital
Stephen D'Ambrisi
Sector Perform
maintain
$99 -> $105
AI Analysis
2026-01-23
Reason
RBC Capital
Stephen D'Ambrisi
Price Target
$99 -> $105
AI Analysis
2026-01-23
maintain
Sector Perform
Reason
RBC Capital analyst Stephen D'Ambrisi raised the firm's price target on Southern Company to $105 from $99 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares as part of a broader research note previewing Q4 earnings in Utilities. As has been the trend across the space over the last 18 months given the rapidly changing capital deployment landscape, a number of utilities that are typically Q4 roll-forward companies gave off-cycle or early previews of updated capital plans, prompting the firm to revise its model in the sector, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Morgan Stanley
David Arcaro
Underweight
maintain
$81 -> $85
2026-01-21
Reason
Morgan Stanley
David Arcaro
Price Target
$81 -> $85
2026-01-21
maintain
Underweight
Reason
Morgan Stanley analyst David Arcaro raised the firm's price target on Southern Company to $85 from $81 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The firm is updating its Regulated & Diversified Utilities / IPPs in North America under its coverage, noting utilities underperformed the S&P's return in December, the analyst tells investors.
Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for SO
