Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC invested $279,000 in Southern Company, acquiring 3,031 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Southern Company's stock was recently rated by analysts, with Mizuho raising its price objective from $93.00 to $95.00, classifying it as "neutral," while other firms have set target prices ranging from $78.00 to $98.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.96 and a yield of 3.2%.

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,165,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,025,450. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business's 50 day moving average price is $93.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.03. The stock has a market cap of $100.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

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.