2,838 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by Beacon Financial Advisory LLC

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.77.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.46 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $93.47 and its 200 day moving average is $91.52. The company has a market cap of $105.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.