Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $98.15 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $98.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays set a $70.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.