ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Has $879,000 Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its investment in Southern Company (SO) by 108.4% during the second quarter, holding a total of 9,575 shares valued at $879,000.
• Southern's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.91, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue increased 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• The company has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 108.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SO. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,284,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Southern by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Southern by 99.8% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Southern by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.08.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.54 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.30. The company has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.Southern's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.