Flputnam Investment Management Co. Buys 1,767 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp grew its position in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE SO opened at $92.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $101.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.