Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,875 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Southern were worth $44,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $98.23 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.74. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $98.36. The stock has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern’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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.31.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.