Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 14.0%, owning 25,714 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares in the first quarter.
• Southern Company's stock recently reported a 0.2% decrease, with a current market cap of $103.89 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, along with a dividend yield of 3.1% announced for $0.74 per share.
• In its latest earnings report, Southern missed earnings expectations with an EPS of $0.91, falling short of the $0.99 consensus, but reported revenue growth of 7.9% year-over-year at $6.97 billion.

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,714 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,003,419,000 after acquiring an additional 107,394 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $614,297,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $510,229,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in 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 worth $428,794,000 after acquiring an additional 979,756 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents 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 at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $1.2460 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $93.2340. The company had a trading volume of 2,559,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,604,726. The company has a market capitalization of $102.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $93.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company 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%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous 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. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.