Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $98.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $107.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.79. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $98.42.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.Southern’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued 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 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.