Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2,111.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,713,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,636,051 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.15% of Southern worth $165,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 3.1% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $438,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Southern by 31.3% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 202,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,540,000 after purchasing an additional 48,273 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 13.8% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 19,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,896,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.21.

Southern Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:SO opened at $94.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Trending Headlines about Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding the $1.01 analyst consensus and rising from $0.91 a year earlier. The company also reported $1.2 billion in quarterly earnings, or $1.03 per reported share, versus $0.9 billion, or $0.80 per share, in the prior-year period. Southern Co. Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Southern’s six-month earnings increased to $2.5 billion, or $2.24 per share, from $2.2 billion, or $2.01 per share, a sign of year-to-date profit growth. Southern Company Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Georgia Power completed the Moody Battery Energy Storage System, supporting solar integration and grid reliability. Southern is also expanding storage capacity across Georgia, which could strengthen its regulated-utility growth profile. Southern Completes Moody Battery Project
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to view Southern as a potential AI and data-center electricity-demand beneficiary, supported by large-load contracts and a reported 25-year power agreement with OpenAI. Southern Company AI Data Center Opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of the $7.23 billion consensus and was essentially flat year over year, tempering the earnings beat. Southern Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s 2026 EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60 brackets a $4.57 consensus estimate, while third-quarter guidance of $1.65 is below the $1.67 forecast. This modestly cautious outlook likely contributed to the stock’s weakness despite the quarterly beat.

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.