Carnegie Investment Counsel Buys 12,314 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,314 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Southern were worth $18,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after acquiring an additional 107,394 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,297,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,107,000 after acquiring an additional 120,816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $96.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.21 and a 200 day moving average of $92.18. The company has a market capitalization of $105.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. 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 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 company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.30.

Southern Company 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.