Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $617,000.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Southern Stock Up 0.8%
SO stock traded up $0.7340 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.9140. The company had a trading volume of 5,556,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,204,792. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44. 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 company has a market capitalization of $104.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.34.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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 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 research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 76.09%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 research report on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.29.
View Our Latest Research Report on Southern
Southern Profile
(
Free Report)
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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