Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 7,292 Southern Company (The) $SO

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $98.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.95.

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). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The business’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. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.