Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by NewEdge Advisors LLC

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC has sold 18,575 shares of Southern Company, reducing its position by 8.1% in the first quarter, with remaining holdings valued at approximately $19.43 million.
• Southern Company's CEO, Kimberly S. Greene, sold 13,158 shares for over $1.25 million, decreasing her ownership stake by 12.32%.
• Analysts' ratings for Southern Company are mixed, with five "Buy," seven "Hold," and one "Sell," while the average price target stands at $94.92.

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,330 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,575 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $19,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 80,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,376,000 after purchasing an additional 22,546 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $945,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded down $0.87 during trading on Monday, reaching $90.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,703,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,976,359. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $93.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.07. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Southern's 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.