Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV Grows Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its stake in Southern Company by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring 44,651 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 85,744 shares worth approximately $7.87 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, have also raised their holdings in Southern Company, indicating a growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Southern Company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.91, missing analyst expectations, while also announcing a dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 44,651 shares during the period. Southern comprises 0.4% of Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV's holdings in Southern were worth $7,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 107,394 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $614,297,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $280,107,000 after purchasing an additional 120,816 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.77.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of SO stock opened at $96.17 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. 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 issued 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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. Equities 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 was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. 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.

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