Are Wall Street Analysts Bullish on Southern Company Stock?

Atlanta, Georgia-based The Southern Company (SO) engages in the sale of electricity. The company offers electric service to retail customers and wholesale customers, and energy-related products and services to natural gas customers. The company has a market cap of $107.1 billion and develops, constructs, acquires, owns, operates, and manages power generation assets, sells electricity at market-based rates in the wholesale market, and more.

The electricity supplier’s shares have underperformed the broader market over the past year, growing 2.1% compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.2% surge. Moreover, in 2026, the stock has risen nearly 7%, also lagging behind the SPX’s 7.4% rise.      

Focusing on its industry benchmark, the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) has fallen 2.5% over the past year, outperforming the stock. In 2026, XLU has grown 1.4% and has lagged behind the stock. 

SO released its better-than-expected Q3 2026 earnings in the last trading session, with promising results. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose nearly 13% from the prior-year period to $8.8 billion and surpassed the Street’s forecasts. Additionally, its adjusted EPS for the period amounted to $1.94, also topping the consensus estimates. Management cited increased usage and customer growth, growing revenue from large commercial and industrial customers, and higher earnings from Southern Power as the primary drivers behind SO’s growth. 

For the current year, which ends in December, analysts expect SO’s EPS to rise 6.7% to $4.59 on a diluted basis. The company surpassed the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters, while missing on one occasion.  

Among the 24 analysts covering SO stock, the consensus is a “Hold.” That’s based on six “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” 15 “Holds,” and two “Strong Sells.” 

The configuration has remained largely unchanged over the past months. 

On Oct. 28, RBC Capital analyst Stephen D’Ambrisi maintained a “Hold” rating on Southern Co. and set a price target of $98. 

SO’s mean price target of $96.71 offers a 3.6% upside compared to the current market price. Its Street-high target of $112 implies a robust 20% upside from current levels.

On the date of publication, Aritra Gangopadhyay did not directly have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.