UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Invests $591,000 in Southern Company (The) $SO

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 18th, 2026

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $591,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SO

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.37. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

About Southern

(Free Report)

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.