NBT Bank N A NY Has $1.97 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

NBT Bank N A NY trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 952 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.77.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $96.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $105.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. 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 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.52 and its 200-day moving average is $91.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Southern Company 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.