Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 208 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Investors Research Corp grew its position in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.53 and its 200 day moving average is $91.27. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.