IFP Advisors Inc Sells 418 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

IFP Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Up 2.2%

Southern stock opened at $98.23 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.74. 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 firm has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $98.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

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.