Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 201 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Venturi Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.77.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Southern stock opened at $96.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.52 and its 200-day moving average is $91.59. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.79. 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 (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.