Southern Company (The) $SO Position Boosted by Signaturefd LLC

Key Points

• Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company by 6.7%, owning 53,874 shares valued at approximately $4.95 million as of the latest report.
• Southern Company reported a miss on earnings per share for the last quarter, achieving $0.91, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.99.
• Analyst ratings for Southern Company are mixed, with four analysts

Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,874 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,618 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 1,982.6% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Southern by 6.8% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,670,000 after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $4,022,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.08.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $94.54 on Friday. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (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 for 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 firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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