Strs Ohio Buys New Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 322,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,658,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in 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 buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $101.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.10. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.92.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.