First Trust Advisors LP Sells 77,189 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 742,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 77,189 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Southern were worth $71,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.29 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $109.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $94.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.