FCG Investment Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• FCG Investment Co has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 74.4%, selling 23,795 shares and leaving it with 8,206 shares worth approximately $755,000.
• Southern Company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.91, missing analysts' estimates of $0.99, despite a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 3.1%.

FCG Investment Co lessened its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 74.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,795 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co's holdings in Southern were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 0.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth about $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 valued at $32,815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.7340 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.9140. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,556,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,204,792. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $92.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $104.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.