Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Chemung Canal Trust Co.

Key Points

• Chemung Canal Trust Co. reduced its stake in Southern Company by 14.1%, holding 28,609 shares worth approximately $2.6 million after the sale.
• The company's recent earnings report showed $0.91 earnings per share, falling short of analysts' estimates by $0.08, despite a 7.9% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Southern Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with a current dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Chemung Canal Trust Co. trimmed its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,609 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,687 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $2,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.08.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company'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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $94.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $93.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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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