Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $14.59 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Southern Company by 2.6% in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 158,859 shares valued at $14.59 million.
• Southern Company reported earnings per share of $0.91 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99, while revenue grew by 7.9% year-over-year, reaching $6.97 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 158,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Southern were worth $14,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,003,419,000 after acquiring an additional 107,394 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $614,297,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,107,000 after acquiring an additional 120,816 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.92.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $92.37. The 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 simple moving average of $93.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.23. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $101.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The business's 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Southern

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

About Southern

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.