Neo Ivy Capital Management Invests $4.20 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake of 44,268 shares in Southern Company (≈$4.20M) in Q3, making the position about 1.0% of its portfolio and its 7th largest holding.
• Analyst moves: Evercore upgraded SO to "outperform" with a $111 price target (~13.5% upside) and KeyCorp raised multi‑year EPS forecasts (FY2029 to $5.76) while keeping a "Sector Weight," indicating earnings upside but measured sentiment.
• Dividend and fundamentals: Southern pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (3.0% yield; 75% payout ratio); it slightly missed last quarter's EPS ($0.55 vs. $0.56) while revenue grew 10.1% YoY, and analysts maintain an average "Hold" rating with a $98.08 target.

Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 44,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,195,000. Southern accounts for 1.0% of Neo Ivy Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. Marietta Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 39,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 381,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,141,000 after acquiring an additional 7,912 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. increased its stake in Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 20,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Southern by 3.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 257,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,426,000 after purchasing an additional 7,539 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Southern News

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

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $97.75 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $107.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $90.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.49.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. 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. Barclays cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.