Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,510,631 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 97.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,510,631 shares during the period. 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 (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 309.5% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

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

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $94.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.28. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

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). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.20 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.600 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

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.