Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $21.66 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 387 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Southern were worth $21,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $103.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.47. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.66.

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.