Southern Company (NYSE: SO)’s stock price has increased by 1.45 compared to its previous closing price of 89.86. However, the company has seen a 4.52% increase in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. fool.com reported 2025-04-13 that Recessions can be really challenging periods. A contracting economy causes companies and consumers to pull back on spending.
Is It Worth Investing in Southern Company (NYSE: SO) Right Now?
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) has a higher price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85x compared to its average ratio. SO has 36-month beta value of 0.38. Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with 3 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 3 as “overweight,” 13 as “hold,” and 1 as “sell.”
The public float for SO is 1.09B, and currently, short sellers hold a 1.86% ratio of that float. The average trading volume of SO on April 15, 2025 was 5.30M shares.
SO’s Market Performance
SO stock saw an increase of 4.52% in the past week, with a monthly gain of 0.86% and a quarterly increase of 11.35%. The volatility ratio for the week is 3.38%, and the volatility levels for the last 30 days are 2.23% for Southern Company (SO). The simple moving average for the last 20 days is 1.61% for SO stock, with a simple moving average of 5.22% for the last 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of SO
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for SO stocks, with JP Morgan repeating the rating for SO by listing it as a “Neutral.” The predicted price for SO in the upcoming period, according to JP Morgan is $94 based on the research report published on April 08, 2025 of the current year 2025.
Jefferies gave a rating of “Hold” to SO, setting the target price at $94 in the report published on September 20th of the previous year.
SO Trading at 2.87% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought SO to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -3.48% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.23%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 3.38%, as shares surge +0.68% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading +8.59% upper at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, SO rose by +4.52%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +16.56% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $89.72. In addition, Southern Company saw 10.74% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further gains.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at SO starting from Connally Stan W, who sale 12,500 shares at the price of $92.24 back on Mar 31 ’25. After this action, Connally Stan W now owns 149,419 shares of Southern Company, valued at $1,153,000 using the latest closing price.
Connally Stan W, the Officer of Southern Company, proposed sale 12,500 shares at $92.24 during a trade that took place back on Mar 31 ’25, which means that Connally Stan W is holding shares at $1,152,980 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for SO
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.26 for the present operating margin
- 0.41 for the gross margin
The net margin for Southern Company stands at 0.16. The total capital return value is set at 0.05. Equity return is now at value 13.61, with 3.09 for asset returns.
Based on Southern Company (SO), the company’s capital structure generated 0.67 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.15. The debt to equity ratio resting at 2.0. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 2.56.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 13.24 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 4.96. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 6.18. The receivables turnover for the company is 6.23for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.18. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 0.67.
Conclusion
To put it simply, Southern Company (SO) has had a better performance in recent times. Analysts have a bullish opinion on the stock, with some rating it as a “buy” and others as a “hold”. It is worth mentioning that the stock is currently trading in close proximity to its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
