EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $31.89 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 0.9% in Q1, owning a total of 346,815 shares valued at approximately $31.89 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, translating to a 3.2% dividend yield, which will be paid on September 8th.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations, but its revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 346,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,182 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $31,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the first 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. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,003,419,000 after buying an additional 107,394 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $614,297,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $510,229,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 979,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SO stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $91.79. 3,165,302 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,025,450. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.51 and a 200 day moving average of $91.00.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report 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, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently 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.