Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Equitable Trust Co.

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. has increased its stake in Southern Company by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring an additional 6,843 shares, bringing its total holdings to 34,527 shares valued at approximately $3.17 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene recently sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock for over $1.25 million, which reduced her ownership by 12.32% to 93,661 shares.
• Southern Company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.91, which missed analysts' estimated $0.99, despite a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Southern by 25.6% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 14.4% during the first quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $98.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $93.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.79. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $98.42. The firm has a market cap of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43.

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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during 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%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $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. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.69.

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.

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