Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $2.73 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 13.4%, holding 29,719 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Southern Company's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.91, missing estimates and showing a 7.9% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.97 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.96 and a yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 13.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,519 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Southern were worth $2,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,672,000 after purchasing an additional 30,618 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $2,352,000. Investors Research Corp grew its holdings in Southern by 1,982.6% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Southern by 6.8% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,670,000 after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.56 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $104.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.45 and a 200-day moving average of $91.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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 forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.08.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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