Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 12,696 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC has purchased 12,696 shares of Southern Company, valued at approximately $1.17 million, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• The company experienced a 1.3% decline in stock price, with a current market capitalization of $108.29 billion and a recent trading price of $98.44.
• Southern Company reported Q2 earnings of $0.91 EPS, missing estimates by $0.08, but showed an annual revenue increase of 7.9% to $6.97 billion.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,166,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.3%

Southern stock opened at $98.44 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.95.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on Southern in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Cowen began coverage on Southern in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Southern

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.

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