Farmers Trust Co. Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in Southern Company by 35.1% during the second quarter, resulting in a total of 66,560 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million.
• Several institutional investors, including AdvisorNet Financial Inc and Acropolis Investment Management LLC, also modified their holdings in Southern Company, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Southern Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with a current yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 76.09%, reflecting its stable financial position.

Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,286 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $6,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 10,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $309,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.92.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $92.37 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $93.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $101.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Southern's 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. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.