McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. Has $464,000 Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $2,352,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,672,000 after buying an additional 30,618 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 1,982.6% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Southern by 6.8% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,670,000 after buying an additional 17,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of SO opened at $98.23 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $98.36. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $108.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.71.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI started coverage on Southern in a report on Monday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.31.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.