Hilltop Holdings Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 22.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,849 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

More Southern News

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 Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of SO opened at $97.29 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.69. The firm has a market capitalization 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

About Southern

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.