Capital Investment Advisors LLC Buys 14,020 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Capital Investment Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.4%, holding a total of 606,899 shares valued at approximately $55.7 million.
• Analysts have generally rated Southern Company as a "Hold," with a consensus target price of $95.08, though some firms have issued buy ratings.
• Southern Company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 606,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,020 shares during the period. Southern accounts for 1.0% of Capital Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Capital Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Southern worth $55,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.79 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. 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 fifty day moving average of $93.52 and a 200-day moving average of $91.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Southern's quarterly revenue 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, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued 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 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is 76.09%.

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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