Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys Shares of 44,632 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired 44,632 shares of Southern Company, valued at approximately $4.1 million, indicating institutional interest in the utilities provider.
• Southern Company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91 for the last quarter, falling short of expectations, while revenue increased 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, reflecting a 3.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 44,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,099,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its position in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.37 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.23. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $101.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

About Southern

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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