Vinva Investment Management Ltd Acquires 20,726 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Southern by 78.7%, buying 20,726 shares to hold 47,066 shares worth about $4.42 million.
• Analyst views are mixed: Evercore upgraded SO to "outperform" with a $111 target and TD Cowen raised its target to $112, but the consensus remains a Hold with a $98.08 price target.
• Southern slightly missed quarterly EPS ($0.55 vs. $0.56) while revenue rose 10.1% to $6.98B, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.74 (annualized $2.96) for an approximate 3.0% yield.

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 78.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,066 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,726 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $4,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial increased its stake in Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.75 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.45. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $107.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 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 company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. 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.

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