Stiles Financial Services Inc Has $1.27 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.1% during the second quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 34,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.9% during the second quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 7,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the second quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 12,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 203.0% in the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 40,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 26,899 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $96.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.64. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’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 owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. 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 note 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.77.

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.