Leo Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Leo Wealth LLC has increased its holdings in Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 22.2%, owning 32,303 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million.
• Southern Company reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the quarter, missing estimates, but recorded a 7.9% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.97 billion.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.1% with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Leo Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 22.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,861 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $363,000. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2,780.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 700,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,423,000 after buying an additional 676,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its stake in Southern by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:SO opened at $96.17 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.79. The stock has a market cap of $105.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.52 and a 200-day moving average of $91.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The company'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 analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.77.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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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