Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Southern Company during Q1, purchasing 299,225 shares valued at approximately $27.5 million.
• Southern Company's CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares recently, decreasing her ownership by 12.32% to 93,661 shares valued at around $8.9 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with an ex-dividend date on August 18, representing a dividend yield of 3.2%.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 299,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,514,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $92.34. 3,227,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,489,137. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.86. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The company has a market capitalization of $101.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 3.19 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm'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. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Insider Activity

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 owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

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.