Greenleaf Trust Trims Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust reduced its stake in Southern Company by 22.5%, now holding 23,123 shares valued at $2,123,000, after selling 6,728 shares in the second quarter.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.08, despite achieving revenues of $6.97 billion, surpassing expectations.
• Southern recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Greenleaf Trust reduced its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,728 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Southern were worth $2,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 0.9%

SO stock opened at $94.78 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during 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%. 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 company 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. Equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.08.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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