Investors Research Corp Boosts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Investors Research Corp significantly increased its stake in Southern Company (The) by 1,982.6% during the second quarter, now holding $516,000 worth of shares.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares at an average price of $95.00, reducing her ownership by 12.32% to approximately $8.9 million.
• The company reported earnings of $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations, but had quarterly revenue that exceeded predictions at $6.97 billion.

Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1,982.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after acquiring an additional 107,394 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $614,297,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $510,229,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 23.2% in the 4th 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 worth $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $92.27 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50 day moving average price is $93.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.13.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

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.

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