Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. has acquired a new stake in Southern Company valued at approximately $299,000, purchasing 3,255 shares in the second quarter.
• Southern Company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, with a revenue of $6.97 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,255 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,618 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,982.6% during the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,670,000 after acquiring an additional 17,111 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $4,022,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,569,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,935,855. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.23. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $101.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's 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.