AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 23,111 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 327.0% during the 1st quarter, now holding a total of 30,179 shares valued at approximately $2.78 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Southern Company, with four analysts rating it as a Buy while others hold a neutral or underweight rating, leading to an average target price of $94.36.
• The Southern Company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which will be paid to stockholders on September 8, contributing to an annualized yield of 3.1%.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 327.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,111 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for about 0.3% of AlphaQuest LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 24,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Southern by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 598,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,285,000 after purchasing an additional 243,000 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Southern by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 110,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Southern by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 69,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.1760 during trading on Friday, hitting $94.4440. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,304,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,604,726. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.96 and a 200-day moving average of $90.62. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $103.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.36.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.