Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 24.3% during Q2, acquiring a total of 152,861 shares valued at approximately $14 million.
• Southern Company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91 for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates of $0.99, although revenue was up 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74, yielding 3.0% annually, with a dividend payout ratio of 76.09%.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 29,907 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $14,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $98.23 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.62 and a 200 day moving average of $91.73. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $98.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. 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, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the 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 owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.31.

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.

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