Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Cut by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 11.8%, now holding approximately 7.3 million shares worth around $675 million.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $0.91, falling short of the consensus estimate by $0.08, though revenue saw a 7.9% increase year-over-year.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which will be paid out on September 8th, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,342,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 984,844 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.67% of Southern worth $675,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $91.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $93.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.05. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $100.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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