IFG Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $510,229,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,724 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 125.4% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,349,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,059,000 after acquiring an additional 750,500 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,161,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,789,000 after acquiring an additional 623,417 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Southern by 71.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,200,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,253,000 after purchasing an additional 499,996 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $95.11 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $104.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. 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 (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen started coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.66.

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.