Inceptionr LLC Acquires Shares of 17,175 Southern Company (The) $SO

Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.2% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 22,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,039,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Southern by 9.5% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 49,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.45. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $107.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded SO from “in-line” to “outperform” and set a $111 price target (~13.5% upside vs. the recent price). The upgrade signals increased conviction from a sell‑side shop and likely lifted buying interest. Street Insider
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its multi‑year earnings outlook for Southern — notably boosting FY2029 to $5.76/share (from $5.52) and lifting FY2026–FY2030 estimates across the board — which implies stronger future cash flow and supports higher valuation multiples. These upward revisions can justify more bullish price targets and help underpin the stock. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp left a “Sector Weight” rating on SO despite raising EPS forecasts; that suggests the firm is more confident in underlying earnings trends but not ready to move to an outright buy stance, so the impact may be more measured than a full‑throated upgrade. MarketBeat

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

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.