Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Bollard Group LLC

Bollard Group LLC increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,101 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 1.0% of Bollard Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $32,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $97.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

More Southern News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

About Southern

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.