Kentucky Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Kentucky Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 2.7% of Kentucky Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Kentucky Trust Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sara Bay Financial bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $370,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $420,000. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $93.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.25. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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). The company 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 for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial assumed 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Five equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.