Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Trims Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Southern were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $94.56 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.45 and a 200-day moving average of $91.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 3.25 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.