Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 19,239 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.33% of Southern worth $313,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Southern by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,895,000 after acquiring an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after purchasing an additional 508,149 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,715,000 after purchasing an additional 54,111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.24.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.94 beat the $1.71 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $8.84 billion, also ahead of expectations. The company’s earnings release reported $1.77 per share on its stated basis, compared with $1.55 a year earlier. Article: Southern Co. Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted surging data-center demand and 21 GW of large-load contracts. Its 2026 EPS guidance of $4.70 is above the $4.59 consensus, and 2028 guidance of $5.25–$5.45 spans from consensus to above it—supporting the longer-term growth outlook. Article: Southern Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and Capital Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: A potential $100 billion capital plan could enable investment to serve rising electricity demand, but its eventual scale and funding needs remain considerations for investors. Article: Southern Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and Capital Upside
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $0.30 is below analysts’ $0.44 estimate. That near-term shortfall may temper the positive reaction to the quarterly beat and full-year guidance. Article: Southern Company Q3 Earnings Report

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $92.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.48. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $81.69 and a 52-week high of $99.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 16.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 69.25%.

About Southern

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States.

Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.

Formed in 1945, Southern Company has grown from a regional electric utility holding company into a diversified energy provider.