Boston Partners Reduces Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Boston Partners has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 12.3%, now holding 312,050 shares valued at approximately $28.7 million.
• Southern Company's earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.91, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with a yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Boston Partners cut its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 43,947 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners' holdings in Southern were worth $28,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in 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 stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded up $1.1620 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.0120. 2,013,552 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,184,651. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $92.58 and its 200 day moving average is $90.31. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Southern'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. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

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.