Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC

Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,192 shares during the quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $91.38 on Wednesday. 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 $100.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.17. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Southern 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.