Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Cuts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Southern were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

SO opened at $94.56 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $104.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.