Code Waechter LLC Acquires 1,492 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Code Waechter LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 47.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the quarter. Code Waechter LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its position in Southern by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.66.

Southern Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of SO opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $94.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.50. 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

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.