Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

Key Points

• GC Wealth Management RIA LLC reduced its Southern Company stake by 64.2%, selling 17,943 shares and leaving 10,004 shares valued at about $872,000 at quarter-end.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares (≈$2.42M at ~$96.67) and EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares, together trimming insider ownership and signaling notable insider selling.
• Southern beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.32 vs. $1.21; revenue $8.40B vs. ~$8.26B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 ($3.04 annual, ~3.1% yield), though near-term FY2026 guidance was slightly cautious.

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 64.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,943 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% during 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 period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $4,852,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,966,000 after buying an additional 47,451 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 202,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,145,000 after buying an additional 13,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue — adjusted EPS came in at $1.32 versus ~$1.21 consensus, and revenue was $8.40B vs. $8.26B expected; margins and ROE improved year-over-year, supporting near-term earnings quality. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Higher power demand helped drive the beat and improved results, a cyclical tailwind that boosts near-term utility cash flow and earnings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term guidance shows continued growth: FY2028 EPS range of 5.25–5.45 suggests management expects continued earnings expansion beyond near-term variability (supports long-horizon investor thesis).
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/target upgrades and estimate tweaks — small lift from Erste and a Wells Fargo price-target increase signal modest analyst support following results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released slides and conference materials for the quarter; useful for modeling regulatory drivers, rate cases and capital spend but no new regulatory news in the release. Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Deeper metrics analyses are available that compare Q1 results to estimates and last year; useful for modeling but not headline-moving by themselves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance was slightly cautious — FY2026 EPS guidance of 4.50–4.60 has a midpoint a hair below consensus (~4.57) and Q2 guidance of 1.00 is below the ~1.02 estimate, leaving limited upside for the rest of the year if demand softens.
• Negative Sentiment: Relative-valuation/peer concerns: some analysts favor peers (e.g., Vistra) due to cheaper valuation or more aggressive clean-energy investments, which could limit multiple expansion for SO. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.08.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $96.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

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.

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