Valued at a market cap of $107.3 billion, The Southern Company (SO) is one of the largest regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States, serving approximately 9 million customers across the Southeast. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company generates, transmits, and distributes electricity while also providing natural gas distribution through its regulated utility subsidiaries.
Investor enthusiasm for Southern Company has remained subdued over the past year. Shares of SO have dipped 1.4% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has surged 22.6%. The stock has shown signs of recovery in 2026 and is up 6.8%, still trailing SPX’s 12.8% return.
Narrowing the focus, SO has also lagged behind the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which soared 1.1% over the past 52 weeks, though it has comfortably outperformed the ETF's 2.3% year-to-date return.
On July 30, Southern Company's shares fell 1.8% after the utility reported its Q2 FY2026 results. The company delivered adjusted EPS of $1.13, up 22.8% from $0.92 a year earlier, driven by continued customer growth, resilient electricity demand, and expanding infrastructure investments across its regulated utility footprint. Its operating revenue rose marginally year over year to $6.98 billion. Management also reaffirmed its long-term growth strategy, highlighting strong demand from data centers and population growth across its Southeast service territories as key drivers of future earnings.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect SO’s EPS to grow 6.5% year over year to $4.58. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It exceeded the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing on another occasion.
Among the 25 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a "Hold,” which is based on six “Strong Buy,” one "Moderate Buy,” 16 “Hold,” and two “Strong Sell” ratings.
The consensus is bearish than a month ago, when the stock had an overall “Moderate Buy” rating.
On July 23, Wells Fargo analyst Shahriar Pourreza reiterated a "Hold" rating on Southern Company while setting a $99 price target.
The mean price target of $102.02 represents a 9.6% premium from SO’s current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $114 suggests a 22.4% potential upside from the current levels.
