Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Edgar Lomax Co. VA

Edgar Lomax Co. VA lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 22.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 72,450 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 1.8% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 9,099.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $103,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.08.

Southern Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.60 and a 200-day moving average of $91.46. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Trending Headlines about 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 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.