Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,739 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,796 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $8,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $98.15 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $93.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.79. The company has a market cap of $107.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $98.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.31.

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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