Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by JNBA Financial Advisors

JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 188.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors’ holdings in Southern were worth $116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $363,000. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Southern by 8.5% during the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 67.9% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 30.8% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $98.23 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $98.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.