Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 93.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,681 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Uptick Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.5% in the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern News Summary

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 Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $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. The company 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given 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 payout ratio is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research 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. KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

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.