The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Southern Company by 11.2%, now owning approximately 1.21 million shares valued at $111.68 million.
• Southern Company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.91, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.99, although their revenue increased to $6.97 billion.
• Southern declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,214,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 152,890 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.11% of Southern worth $111,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 762 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 267,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,052,000 after acquiring an additional 97,619 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4,825.1% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 166,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,732,000 after purchasing an additional 163,426 shares during the period. 4WEALTH Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC now owns 49,436 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,070,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,275,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,088,827. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.91.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Five research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern 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.