Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group Acquires Shares of 5,025 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group has acquired 5,025 shares of Southern Company, valued at approximately $462,000, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the latest quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.99, despite a revenue increase to $6.97 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a 3.2% yield and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 10,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 29,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares during the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 100,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 302,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays lifted 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Southern Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,381,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,632,029. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.44. The company has a market cap of $101.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $93.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.20. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company 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.