Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company by 277.6% during Q2, acquiring a total of 14,908 shares worth approximately $1.37 million.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing consensus estimates by $0.08, while revenue was $6.97 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 277.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,960 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.77.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $95.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44. The company's fifty day moving average is $93.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

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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