Woodline Partners LP Has $8.51 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Southern Company by 40.7%, now holding a total of 92,569 shares valued at approximately $8.51 million.
• Southern Company recently reported an earnings miss for the quarter, with EPS at $0.91, below expectations of $0.99, but revenue rose 7.9% year-over-year to $6.97 billion.
• Institutional investors own 64.10% of Southern's stock, with recent upgrades from several analysts leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.92.

Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 40.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,569 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,769 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Southern were worth $8,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 8,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $339,000. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 137.7% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 9,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.92.

Southern Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. 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 50 day moving average price of $93.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.10. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. Equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company'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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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