Gabelli Funds LLC Has $37.79 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in Southern Company by 2.0%, selling 8,491 shares and holding 410,959 shares worth approximately $37.8 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Southern Company's stock recently reported earnings of $0.91 per share, which missed the consensus estimate of $0.99, despite revenue for the quarter increasing by 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, with a current payout ratio of 76.09%.

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 410,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,491 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $37,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 80,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,376,000 after acquiring an additional 22,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $945,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research report on Thursday, June 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE SO traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.34. 3,227,614 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,117,155. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.80. 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 cap of $101.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.