Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,496 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired 3,496 shares of Southern Company, valued at approximately $321,000, indicating strong institutional investment interest in the company.
• Southern Company recently reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing estimates, but showed 7.9% year-over-year revenue growth with revenues of $6.97 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, providing a 3.2% dividend yield, which reflects its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 400.0% during the first 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 last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $91.54 on Thursday. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.07. The stock has a market cap of $100.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given 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 dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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