State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 27,496 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 6.9%, selling 27,496 shares, and now holds 372,822 shares valued at approximately $34.3 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company at $95.00 each, resulting in a total transaction of about $1.25 million, which decreased her ownership by 12.32%.
• Southern Company's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.91, falling short of the $0.99 consensus estimate, but the company's revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 372,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,496 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Southern were worth $34,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $1.3210 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.1710. 4,690,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,202,545. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. 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 $92.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.31. The stock has a market cap of $103.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business'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, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.