Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 8.1%, now holding 43,859 shares valued at approximately $4.03 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly boosted their holdings in Southern Company, with Intech Investment Management increasing their position by 35.8% in the first quarter alone.
• The company reported $0.91 per share in earnings for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, while its revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,268 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp increased its position in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Southern Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE SO traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $92.37. 5,569,546 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,935,855. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.23. The company has a market capitalization of $101.61 billion, a P/E 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 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company'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, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

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.