Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Madrona Financial Services LLC

Madrona Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 32.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the period. Madrona Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Southern by 23.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.79 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization 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. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.49 and its 200-day moving average is $91.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly 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). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.