SCS Capital Management LLC Takes $515,000 Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC has acquired a new stake of $515,000 in Southern Company, purchasing 5,597 shares during the first quarter.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, despite achieving revenues of $6.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a 3.2% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Southern by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 92,569 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,512,000 after purchasing an additional 26,769 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 8,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $92.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $101.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business's 50 day moving average price is $93.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.10. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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