Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 55,185 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its stake in Southern Company by 8.3%, selling 55,185 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with approximately 0.06% ownership.
• Southern Company's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.91, missing estimates but indicating a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year.
• Southern has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 609,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 55,185 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.06% of Southern worth $55,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in Southern by 211.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 11,242 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 7,633 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 48,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,412,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 21,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,987,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 82,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,608,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $94.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. 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 Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.32.

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 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. 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 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

About Southern

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.