Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC has reduced its stake in Southern Company (NYSE: SO) by 5.8%, now holding 88,040 shares worth approximately $8.08 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares at an average price of $95.00, decreasing her ownership by 12.32%, leaving her with 93,661 shares valued near $8.9 million.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, missing the analysts' expectations of $0.99 EPS, while revenue was $6.97 billion, exceeding expectations.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,414 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $8,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 84,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,741,000 after purchasing an additional 12,392 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,571 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 277.6% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 14,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 10,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other 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 transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $96.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $106.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.77. The business's 50 day moving average is $93.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. 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 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 given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.77.

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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