Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 28,256 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 359,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,256 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $33,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $1,284,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 71,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,612,000 after acquiring an additional 11,378 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $308,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 657.5% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $94.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $104.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.08.

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.