Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. Has $32.22 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern Company by 9.7%, now holding approximately $32.22 million worth of shares, which constitutes about 2.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Southern Company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91 for the last quarter, falling short of analyst expectations while seeing a revenue increase of 7.9% compared to the previous year.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, representing an annualized yield of 3.1% with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 350,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 31,023 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for approximately 2.5% of Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $32,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,284,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 22.5% in the first quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Southern by 99.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Southern by 7.5% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.08.

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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