Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 7,912 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 381,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,912 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $36,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after acquiring an additional 510,080 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded Southern to “Outperform” and set a $111 price target (roughly mid-teens upside from current levels), which is a clear near-term positive catalyst for the stock as it signals higher conviction from a sell-side shop. Street Insider
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its EPS projections across multiple years (FY2026 to FY2028 and FY2030), and published quarterly/annual forecasts (e.g., Q1 2026 $1.23, FY2026 $4.58, FY2027 $4.93, FY2028 $5.36, FY2030 $6.18). The upward revisions to multi-year earnings expectations support a constructive long-term outlook for earnings growth. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite raising EPS forecasts, KeyCorp kept a “Sector Weight” rating on SO, signalling the firm hasn’t shifted to a more bullish stance; that limits the immediate impact of the forecast upgrades on buy-side demand. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Mississippi Power (a Southern unit) named Fredie Carmichael VP of Customer Solutions & Corporate Communications — a routine leadership move with limited near-term market impact but relevant for regional customer engagement and communications. PR Newswire

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $97.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given 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 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

About Southern

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.