Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Key Points

• Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its stake in Southern Company by 16.4%, acquiring 11,169 shares during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total holdings to 79,392 shares worth approximately $7,291,000.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing expectations by $0.08, with revenue rising to $6.97 billion, exceeding analyst predictions.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,169 shares during the period. Southern makes up 1.0% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Southern were worth $7,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 80,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,376,000 after acquiring an additional 22,546 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $945,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.11. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The company has a market capitalization of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.92.

Southern Company 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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