Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 403,929 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 18.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,565,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 403,929 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $235,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Southern by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,352,000. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in Southern by 1,982.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,670,000 after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $93.94 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.30 and a 200 day moving average of $92.40. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Southern’s revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SO. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. BTIG Research began coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.66.

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.