Magellan Asset Management Ltd Purchases 48,850 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 13.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 403,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,850 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $38,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,852,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Capital Management boosted its position in Southern by 700.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after purchasing an additional 141,430 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.64.

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of SO stock opened at $95.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.20 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

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.