Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 481,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,036 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $44,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price target (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cowen started coverage on Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.66.

Southern Trading Down 1.4%

Southern stock opened at $91.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $100.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.50.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.74 dividend. 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 presently 73.27%.

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.