Bollard Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Bollard Group LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,101 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.0% of Bollard Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $32,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s Georgia Power subsidiary signed a long-term power agreement with OpenAI, which could support future electricity demand and reinforce the company’s role in powering AI data center growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced it is joining President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, highlighting a customer-first approach focused on rate stability, grid reliability, and responsible growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on near-term earnings, with Zacks saying Southern may have the right setup to beat upcoming results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $0.60 from $0.55, but kept an Underweight rating and a $79 price target, so the update is mixed despite the higher forecast. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp also trimmed estimates for Southern’s Q3 2026, FY2028, FY2029, and FY2030 earnings, which may weigh on sentiment even though the changes were modest. Article Title

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $97.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $109.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.