Huntington National Bank Has $23.01 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 250,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,623 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $23,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE SO opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.50. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $102.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s 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, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 target price (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.66.

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.