Southern Company (The) $SO Position Trimmed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,342,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 984,844 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $675,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 23,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 75,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,948,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 3,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 135,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 142,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,111,000 after purchasing an additional 19,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.92.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $91.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.51 and a 200-day moving average of $91.05. The company has a market capitalization of $100.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Southern 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.