Financial Harvest LLC Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new position in Southern Company, purchasing 3,363 shares valued at approximately $309,000 in the second quarter.
• Southern Company reported a Q2 earnings per share of $0.91, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.99, despite revenues exceeding estimates at $6.97 billion.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74, representing an annualized yield of 3.2% with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,363 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE SO opened at $91.86 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $93.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The company has a market capitalization of $101.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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 research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Five equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at 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.

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