Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $124.06 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. significantly increased its holdings in Southern Company by 125.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 1.35 million shares valued at $124 million.
• Southern reported $0.91 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, which fell short of the analyst consensus estimate of $0.99, though its revenue of $6.97 billion exceeded predictions by $270 million.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, resulting in a 3.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 125.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,349,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 750,500 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.12% of Southern worth $124,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $614,297,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $510,229,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.79. 3,165,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,025,450. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $93.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.00. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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%.Southern's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.