DnB Asset Management AS Sells 10,382 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS reduced its position in Southern Company by 2.1%, holding 472,885 shares valued at $43.48 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Southern Company's stock is currently trading at $91.64, with a market cap of $100.80 billion and a recent quarterly EPS of $0.91 that missed the consensus estimate.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

DnB Asset Management AS cut its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 472,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,382 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Southern were worth $43,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.9%

Southern stock traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $90.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,703,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,068,339. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.