Vest Financial LLC Buys 10,537 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter, purchasing an additional 10,537 shares to bring its total holdings to 37,375 shares worth approximately $3.43 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 64.10% of Southern Company's stock, with Vanguard Group being the largest shareholder after raising its position by 1.4%.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, and set its FY 2025 guidance between $4.20 and $4.30 EPS.

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,537 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Southern by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,003,419,000 after purchasing an additional 107,394 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in 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. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $96.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $99.80 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $99.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.77 and a 200-day moving average of $91.85.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Southern's quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Southern Company 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.

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