Southern (NYSE:SO) Shares Break Below 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) shares crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $92.48 and traded as low as $91.09. Southern shares last traded at $92.1640, with a volume of 7,595,511 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.94 beat the $1.71 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $8.84 billion, also ahead of expectations. The company’s earnings release reported $1.77 per share on its stated basis, compared with $1.55 a year earlier. Article: Southern Co. Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted surging data-center demand and 21 GW of large-load contracts. Its 2026 EPS guidance of $4.70 is above the $4.59 consensus, and 2028 guidance of $5.25–$5.45 spans from consensus to above it—supporting the longer-term growth outlook. Article: Southern Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and Capital Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: A potential $100 billion capital plan could enable investment to serve rising electricity demand, but its eventual scale and funding needs remain considerations for investors. Article: Southern Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and Capital Upside
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $0.30 is below analysts’ $0.44 estimate. That near-term shortfall may temper the positive reaction to the quarterly beat and full-year guidance. Article: Southern Company Q3 Earnings Report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $96.50 to $85.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.24.

Southern Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.48. The stock has a market cap of $106.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $8.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at $572,000. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. raised its position in Southern by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 23,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.2% during the third quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 71,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,906,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 1.3% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 61,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,133,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its stake in Southern by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 70,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,829,000 after acquiring an additional 4,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.