Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 21,795 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Company by 38.3%, acquiring an additional 21,795 shares, bringing its total to 78,694 shares valued at approximately $7.24 million.
• Southern announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with a payout ratio of 76.09%, reflecting a 3.2% yield.
• Southern's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.91, missing estimates, while the company also experienced a 7.9% year-over-year revenue growth to reach $6.97 billion.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 38.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,694 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,795 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $7,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the first 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 first 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 in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $91.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,468,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,087,785. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. 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 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. 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, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.