TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 403,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,590 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Southern were worth $37,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the 1st 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 bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st 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.
Southern Price Performance
Shares of NYSE SO opened at $98.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.43. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.95. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.57.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Southern
About Southern
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
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).
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