Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 93.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,681 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Key Headlines Impacting Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s Georgia Power subsidiary signed a long-term power agreement with OpenAI, which could support future electricity demand and reinforce the company’s role in powering AI data center growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced it is joining President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, highlighting a customer-first approach focused on rate stability, grid reliability, and responsible growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on near-term earnings, with Zacks saying Southern may have the right setup to beat upcoming results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $0.60 from $0.55, but kept an Underweight rating and a $79 price target, so the update is mixed despite the higher forecast. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp also trimmed estimates for Southern’s Q3 2026, FY2028, FY2029, and FY2030 earnings, which may weigh on sentiment even though the changes were modest. Article Title

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $97.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.44 and its 200-day moving average is $93.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.