Resolution Capital Ltd Sells 23,297 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Resolution Capital Ltd has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 39.7%, selling 23,297 shares and holding a total of 35,355 shares valued at $3,251,000.
• Analysts have recently increased their price targets for Southern Company, with BMO Capital Markets raising it from $98.00 to $102.00 and others setting targets between $90.00 and $99.00.
• Southern Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, offering an annualized yield of 3.2%, with the next payment scheduled for September 8th.

Resolution Capital Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 39.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,355 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,297 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $3,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently 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 buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $91.79 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $93.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.00. 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 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a market cap of $100.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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