Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Reduced by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 97.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,510,631 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 309.5% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

Southern Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.28.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.20 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.600 EPS. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 75.32%.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and strong top-line growth: Q4 revenue of ~$6.98B topped consensus (~$6.41B) and was up ~10% year-over-year, showing demand strength that supports future cash flow. Compared to Estimates, Southern Co. (SO) Q4 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat near-term guidance: Southern raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to $4.50–4.60 and issued a Q1 2026 guide of $1.20 — Q1 guidance materially above consensus — which suggests management expects strong early-year earnings momentum. Southern Company reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Company materials released: slide deck and earnings presentation / call were published for investors to dig into drivers and assumptions behind guidance and capex plans. These materials clarify the outlook but may not change sentiment immediately. The Southern Company 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed profitability signals: Adjusted EPS came in at $0.55 vs. a $0.56 consensus (a modest miss), which, together with differing reported GAAP figures, has raised questions about underlying margin trends. Southern Co. (SO) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Raised multi-year spending plan and profit commentary: Reuters flags that Southern forecast annual profit below some analysts’ expectations while raising its five-year spending plan to support large-load customers (data centers, industrials). Higher capex and near-term profit pressure are risk factors for margins and credit metrics. Southern Co forecasts annual profit below estimates, raises spending plan

Southern Company 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.