Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 60.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,000 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,084,885,000 after purchasing an additional 510,080 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after buying an additional 241,572 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Southern by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after acquiring an additional 87,891 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 9,099.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $95.16 on Friday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and strong topline growth — Southern reported Q4 revenue of $6.98B, up ~10% year‑over‑year and above estimates, supporting the company’s cash-flow narrative. MarketBeat / Slide Deck
• Positive Sentiment: Outlook: company-issued guidance for FY2026 and Q1 is aggressive — Southern set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.50–4.60 and Q1 EPS guidance of $1.20, the latter well above Wall Street’s Q1 consensus. That forward guidance is the main bullish driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings presentation and slides posted — management’s earnings call materials are available for investors to parse operational details and the capex plan. Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance: consensus remains cautious — brokerages’ consensus is a “Hold,” and at least one note downgraded valuation despite steady fundamentals. Consensus Recommendation SA Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and GAAP softness — adjusted EPS came in $0.55 vs. ~$0.56 consensus (a $0.01 miss); some releases show weaker GAAP Q4 EPS, which may alarm income-focused investors. Zacks: Misses PR Newswire: Results
• Negative Sentiment: Higher spending plan and profit outlook concerns — Reuters reports Southern raised its five‑year spending plan to support large-load customers (data centers, industrials) and flagged an annual profit view some said was below estimates; bigger capex can pressure near-term returns and credit metrics. Reuters: Spending Plan

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.