Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 5,464 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,464 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $157,000. Country Club Bank boosted its holdings in Southern by 10.0% during the second quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 14,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 27.0% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 9,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 15.3% during the second quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.77.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $96.39 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.50 and its 200-day moving average is $91.56. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.77. 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 has a market cap of $106.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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