Rep. Val T. Hoyle Sells Off Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Representative Val T. Hoyle (D-Oregon) recently sold shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO). In a filing disclosed on October 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Southern stock on September 23rd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FIDELITY ROLLOVER IRA” account.

Representative Val T. Hoyle also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Pentair (NYSE:PNR) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Heico (NYSE:HEI.A) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) on 9/23/2025.

Southern Stock Up 2.2%

Southern stock opened at $98.23 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $98.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.62 and its 200 day moving average is $91.74. The company has a market capitalization of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its position in Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Representative Hoyle

Val Hoyle (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Hoyle (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Val Hoyle was born in California and lives in Springfield, Oregon. Hoyle graduated from Merrimack High School. She earned a B.A. in political science from Emmanuel College in 1992. Her career experience includes working as a director at United Way of Lane County, a policy fellow at Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and a commissioner at the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Hoyle has also worked in domestic and international sales, as well as manufacturing distribution.

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.