Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $1.28 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 54.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,207 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,852,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Capital Management increased its position in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after buying an additional 141,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Southern

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.76 and its 200 day moving average is $91.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Southern has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.20 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

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.