Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Key Points

• Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in Southern Company shares by 79.5% in the second quarter, owning 9,929 shares valued at approximately $912,000.
• Analyst ratings have varied, with Barclays and Mizuho raising their price targets, while the consensus rating for the stock remains a "Hold" with a target of $95.08.
• Southern Company recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, earning $0.91 per share against an expected $0.99, but revenue rose by 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 79.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.08.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.79 on Thursday. 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 fifty day moving average price is $93.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's 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. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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