Ascent Group LLC Buys 5,624 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has increased its holdings in Southern Company by 137.7%, now owning a total of 9,707 shares valued at approximately $893,000 after acquiring 5,624 additional shares in the 1st quarter.
• Southern Company's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.91, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.99, despite revenue rising to $6.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, reflecting a 3.2% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 137.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,624 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE SO traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $92.27. 4,074,939 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,559,401. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.11. The company has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.