Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Buys 179 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,618 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,352,000. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in Southern by 1,982.6% during the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,670,000 after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.08.

Insider Activity

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

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.56 on Monday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $104.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $93.45 and its 200-day moving average is $91.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 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.