Strategic Planning Group LLC Acquires New Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Strategic Planning Group LLC has acquired a new position in Southern Company by purchasing 48,484 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million during the 2nd quarter.
• Recent reports from various brokerages have resulted in Southern Company receiving multiple ratings adjustments, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $94.92.
• The company reported a $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate, despite a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year.

Strategic Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 48,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,452,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $91.86 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.49 and a 200-day moving average of $91.22. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. 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 has a market cap of $101.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, 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 data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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