Cwm LLC Has $9.03 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Cwm LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 5.5%, holding 98,283 shares valued at approximately $9.03 million.
• The Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing expectations, but saw a 7.9% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, yielding 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Cwm LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,118 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $9,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of SO stock opened at $99.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $109.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.85. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $99.81.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI started coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $96.85.

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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