8,727 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Orographic Financial Advisors LLC

Orographic Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 8,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $94.24 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $106.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 1.85 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 fifty day simple moving average of $94.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SO. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.21.

Key Stories Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding the $1.01 analyst consensus and rising from $0.91 a year earlier. The company also reported $1.2 billion in quarterly earnings, or $1.03 per reported share, versus $0.9 billion, or $0.80 per share, in the prior-year period. Southern Co. Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s six-month earnings increased to $2.5 billion, or $2.24 per share, from $2.2 billion, or $2.01 per share, a sign of year-to-date profit growth. Southern Company Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Georgia Power completed the Moody Battery Energy Storage System, supporting solar integration and grid reliability. Southern is also expanding storage capacity across Georgia, which could strengthen its regulated-utility growth profile. Southern Completes Moody Battery Project
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to view Southern as a potential AI and data-center electricity-demand beneficiary, supported by large-load contracts and a reported 25-year power agreement with OpenAI. Southern Company AI Data Center Opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of the $7.23 billion consensus and was essentially flat year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Southern Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s 2026 EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60 brackets a $4.57 consensus estimate, while third-quarter guidance of $1.65 is below the $1.67 forecast. This modestly cautious outlook likely contributed to the stock’s weakness despite the quarterly beat.

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.