Bell Bank Sells 23,231 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 21st, 2026

Bell Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,231 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,793,000 after purchasing an additional 508,149 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,895,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Southern by 1.9% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,715,000 after buying an additional 54,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southern from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.24.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SO

Southern Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $90.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.05. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $81.69 and a 1 year high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.