BCS Wealth Management Acquires New Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern Company, purchasing 4,572 shares worth approximately $420,000.
• Southern Company's recent earnings report showed a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year, but earnings per share fell short of consensus estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,618 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,982.6% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Southern by 6.8% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,670,000 after acquiring an additional 17,111 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $4,022,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

Southern stock opened at $94.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $103.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $93.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company 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.

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