Interval Partners LP Takes $1.56 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Interval Partners LP has acquired a new stake in Southern Company, purchasing 16,948 shares valued at approximately $1.56 million during the first quarter.
• Several analysts have issued positive ratings on Southern, with Mizuho and Raymond James Financial raising target prices, contributing to a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $94.92.
• Southern Company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth about $510,229,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Southern by 11,230.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,965 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Southern by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1,747.3% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 896,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,785,000 after purchasing an additional 847,803 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded down $0.87 on Monday, hitting $90.91. 3,703,358 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,976,359. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.07.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. 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. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

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.