Cigna Investments Inc. New Lowers Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cigna Investments Inc. New lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Southern were worth $987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BCS Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $420,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 145,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $93.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $96.44. The company has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.25.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.