Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. Sells 911 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 911 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $98.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.71. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $98.36. The company has a market capitalization of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly 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). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’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, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued 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 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, 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 on the stock. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.31.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.