Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 12,751 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 106,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,751 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

More Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted Q1 results beat Street estimates — Southern reported $1.32 adjusted EPS vs. ~$1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40B (up ~8% y/y), signaling better-than-expected operational performance. PR Newswire: Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term demand strength helped results — utilities saw higher power demand in the quarter, which management cited as a contributor to the beat. This demand-led beat supports near-term cash flow expectations. Reuters: Q1 Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and profitability metrics — some coverage noted Southern among profitable renewable names and at least one firm (Wells Fargo) raised its price target recently, which can help sentiment. Yahoo Finance: Why Southern May Be Gaining Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials published — the company posted its earnings slide deck and call transcript, providing more detail for investors to model regulated earnings and capital plans. Useful for granular forecasting but not market-moving by itself. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/sector comparisons — some analysts highlight peers (e.g., Vistra) with different clean-energy exposures and valuations; that frames relative valuation discussions but doesn’t directly change Southern’s fundamentals. Zacks: Peer Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance contains modest soft spots — Southern updated FY?2026 and Q2 guidance (Q2 EPS guide of $1.00 vs. the ~ $1.02 consensus; FY26 guide $4.50–4.60 vs. ~4.57 consensus), which is broadly in line but slightly below some street expectations and could limit upside if the market wanted a clearer beat/raise. PR Newswire: Q1 Release (guidance)

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $96.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.89 and its 200 day moving average is $92.08.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend 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.