OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Trims Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 14.2%, now holding 39,180 shares worth approximately $3.6 million after selling 6,481 shares in the first quarter.
• Southern Company reported earnings per share of $0.91 for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.99, despite a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 3.2%, set to be paid on September 8th.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,481 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $3,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

SO stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,056,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,082,566. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.43 and a 200 day moving average of $90.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41.

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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Southern'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, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's 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.