Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Southern Company by 1.0%, holding 279,650 shares valued at approximately $25.71 million as of their recent SEC filing.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, while its revenue was $6.97 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with a resulting yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,725 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $25,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $91.87. 3,468,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,087,785. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.96. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

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.