Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Raised by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,600 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $25,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its holdings in Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.08.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $94.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $93.45 and its 200-day moving average is $91.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

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.