Leelyn Smith LLC Has $2.86 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,912,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,003,419,000 after acquiring an additional 107,394 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,680,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $614,297,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $510,229,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,107,000 after buying an additional 120,816 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:SO opened at $95.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.25 and a 200-day moving average of $92.24. The company has a market cap of $105.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Southern’s quarterly 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, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price target (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.30.

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.