Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Increases Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.30.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:SO opened at $97.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 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 Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.12.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Southern 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.