Novare Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Novare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company by 46.1% in the second quarter, now owning 9,803 shares valued at approximately $900,000.
• Several analysts have set varying price targets for Southern Company, with Barclays at $70.00 and TD Cowen issuing a "buy" rating with a target of $112.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 46.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,094 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Southern by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 36,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV raised its position in Southern by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 11,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $97.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $107.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $94.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid 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 3.0%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

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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