Driehaus Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Southern Company by 151.1% during the first quarter, owning 10,406 shares valued at approximately $957,000.
• Southern Company's CEO sold 13,158 shares for approximately $1.25 million, reducing their ownership by 12.32%.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.91, below the consensus estimate of $0.99, while revenue increased 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 151.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,262 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $510,229,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 11,230.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,965 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1,747.3% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 896,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,785,000 after purchasing an additional 847,803 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $91.87. 3,468,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,087,785. The business's 50 day moving average price is $93.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $101.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. 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 research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

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.