Financial Partners Group LLC Has $279,000 Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Financial Partners Group LLC reduced its stake in Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 46.8% in Q2, now holding shares worth $279,000.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, although it had a revenue of $6.97 billion, surpassing expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, yielding 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Financial Partners Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 46.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,677 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SO. Mizuho upped 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. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE SO opened at $94.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $93.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.32. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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