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Southern (SO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

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$87.56 -0.04 (-0.05%)
(As of 08:01 PM ET)

Southern - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2024)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Sell
1
Hold
8
Buy
7

Based on 16 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Southern in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 16 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 8 have given a hold rating, and 7 have given a buy rating for SO.

Consensus Price Target

$89.47
2.18% Upside
According to the 16 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Southern, the average price target is $89.47. The highest price target for SO is $97.00, while the lowest price target for SO is $80.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 2.18% from the current price of $87.56.
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SO Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
11/26/23 to 11/25/24
1 Month Ago
10/27/23 to 10/26/24
3 Months Ago
8/28/23 to 8/27/24
1 Year Ago
11/26/22 to 11/26/23
Strong Buy
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
7 Buy rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
Hold
8 Hold rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
Sell
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$89.47$89.07$83.14$72.36
Forecasted Upside2.18% Upside-3.06% Downside-3.03% Downside3.95% Upside
Consensus Rating
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold

SO Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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SO Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
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Southern Stock vs. The Competition

TypeSouthernUtilities CompaniesS&P 500
Consensus Rating Score
2.38
2.50
2.50
Consensus RatingHoldHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside1.88% Upside20.72% Upside6.27% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent SO News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalyst NameActionRatingPrice TargetUpside/Downside on Report DateDetails
11/22/2024Morgan Stanley
3 of 5 stars
 Lower TargetEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$88.00 ➝ $85.00-3.62%
11/1/2024BMO Capital Markets
4 of 5 stars
 Lower TargetOutperform ➝ Outperform$99.00 ➝ $97.00+8.70%
10/15/2024Barclays
3 of 5 stars
 Boost TargetEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$71.00 ➝ $83.00-8.83%
10/2/2024Guggenheim
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 Boost TargetBuy ➝ Buy$93.00 ➝ $97.00+6.22%
9/20/2024UBS Group
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 Boost TargetNeutral ➝ Neutral$90.00 ➝ $91.00+1.84%
9/20/2024Jefferies Financial Group
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 Initiated CoverageHold$94.00+5.77%
9/16/2024Mizuho
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A. Crowdell
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DowngradeOutperform ➝ Neutral$90.00 ➝ $90.00+0.63%
8/29/2024Bank of America
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 Boost TargetNeutral ➝ Neutral$86.00 ➝ $87.00+1.78%
8/20/2024Scotiabank
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 Boost TargetSector Outperform ➝ Sector Outperform$87.00 ➝ $96.00+9.99%
8/12/2024JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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 Boost TargetUnderweight ➝ Underweight$80.00 ➝ $87.00+0.16%
8/2/2024Wells Fargo & Company
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 Boost TargetEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$77.00 ➝ $89.00+1.49%
8/2/2024The Goldman Sachs Group
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 Boost TargetBuy ➝ Buy$83.00 ➝ $94.00+7.27%
8/2/2024Wolfe Research
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S. Fleishman
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DowngradeOutperform ➝ Peer Perform
5/15/2024Argus
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 Boost TargetBuy ➝ Buy$75.00 ➝ $90.00+13.42%
2/21/2024Royal Bank of Canada
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 Reiterated RatingOutperform ➝ Outperform$80.00+18.82%
12/8/2023Citigroup
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 Initiated CoverageBuy$82.00+14.45%
8/9/2023LADENBURG THALM/SH SH
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 Initiated CoverageBuy$72.00+4.64%
4/28/2023VNET Group
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 Reiterated RatingMaintains
1/18/2023Credit Suisse Group
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 Boost TargetUnderperform$60.00 ➝ $70.00-0.07%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Monday at 02:30 PM ET.


Should I Buy Southern Stock? SO Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Thursday, November 21, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these Southern pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Southern
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in The Southern Company:

  • The Southern Company has a solid annualized dividend of $2.88, providing a yield of 3.27%, which can be attractive for income-focused investors.
  • The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.43 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, indicating strong financial performance.
  • With a market capitalization of $95.08 billion, The Southern Company is a large and stable player in the utilities sector, which can provide a sense of security for investors.
  • The stock is currently priced at $86.78, which is below its 52-week high of $94.45, potentially offering a buying opportunity for investors looking for value.
  • The Southern Company has shown a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%, suggesting growth potential in its operations.

Southern
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in The Southern Company for these reasons:

  • The stock has recently been downgraded from an "outperform" to a "peer perform" rating by Wolfe Research, indicating a less favorable outlook from analysts.
  • Insider selling activity has been noted, with the CEO selling 30,000 shares, which may raise concerns about the company's future prospects from those in the know.
  • The current ratio of 0.91 suggests that The Southern Company may have difficulty meeting its short-term liabilities, which could be a red flag for investors.
  • The stock has a relatively high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.35, which may indicate that it is overvalued compared to its earnings potential.
  • Insiders own only 0.18% of the company's stock, which may suggest a lack of confidence in the company's future performance from its leadership.

SO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 16 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Southern is $89.47, with a high forecast of $97.00 and a low forecast of $80.00.

16 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Southern in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 8 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" SO shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in SO, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

According to analysts, Southern's stock has a predicted upside of 2.18% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Southern's stock had 1 downgrade by analysts.

Southern has been rated by research analysts at Bank of America, Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Guggenheim, Jefferies Financial Group, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Group in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Southern less than other "utilities" companies. The consensus rating score for Southern is 2.38 while the average consensus rating score for "utilities" companies is 2.50. Learn more on how SO compares to other companies.


This page (NYSE:SO) was last updated on 11/25/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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