Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Grows Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,284,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 11,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 4,961 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 25,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:SO opened at $93.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $103.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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 predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid 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 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.