First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $4.52 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 15.9%, leaving its holdings valued at approximately $4.52 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Nuveen LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., have recently adjusted their positions in Southern, with institutional investors now owning 64.10% of the stock.
• Southern Company reported an earnings miss for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $0.91 against a consensus estimate of $0.99, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.74 to shareholders.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,292 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $4,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $510,229,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Southern by 125.4% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,349,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,059,000 after buying an additional 750,500 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 40.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,161,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $198,789,000 after buying an additional 623,417 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Southern by 71.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,200,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,253,000 after buying an additional 499,996 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.30.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $97.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $94.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.12.

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). 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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