Ethos Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Ethos Financial Group LLC significantly increased its stake in Southern Company by 1,193.4% during the first quarter, owning 44,002 shares valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Southern Company reported earnings per share of $0.91 for the last quarter, which fell below analysts' expectations of $0.99, despite an increase in revenue of 7.9% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1,193.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,600 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,000,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,815,000 after buying an additional 15,923 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.7340 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.9140. 5,556,620 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,204,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. 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 research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Southern 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.