Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Boosts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its holdings in Southern Company ($SO) by 73.8%, now owning 34,845 shares valued at $3.2 million.
• Southern Company faced mixed analyst ratings, with KeyCorp downgrading its stock to "underweight" while Raymond James set an "outperform" rating and a price target of $98.00.
• Southern recently announced a dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2% with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 73.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 14,797 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Southern were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in Southern by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 7,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 26,576 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 7,608 shares in the last quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southern by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 15,889 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. Francis Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Francis Financial Inc. now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Southern by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,298,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,002,000 after acquiring an additional 299,968 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern 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 value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $90.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,703,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,976,359. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $100.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50 day moving average price is $93.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

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.