Carnegie Investment Counsel Buys 12,314 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Southern Company by 6.4%, acquiring an additional 12,314 shares during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total holdings to 204,567 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million.
• Southern Company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, but its revenue increased by 7.9% to $6.97 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, which will be paid on December 8, 2023, with a yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,314 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Southern were worth $18,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 13,761 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $226,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of SO opened at $96.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.21 and a 200 day moving average of $92.18. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.43. 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 announced 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company'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, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $70.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.30.

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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