Southern Company (The) $SO is Synovus Financial Corp's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Southern Company by 10.9% in Q1, making it the 8th largest position in its portfolio, now owning approximately $173.5 million worth of shares.
• Southern Company reported a Q2 EPS of $0.91, falling short of analysts' expectations, despite revenue of $6.97 billion, which exceeded estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,886,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 186,106 shares during the period. Southern comprises approximately 2.2% of Synovus Financial Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Synovus Financial Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Southern worth $173,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $94.4440 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $103.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The firm's fifty day moving average is $92.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.57.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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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