Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. Has $985,000 Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. 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 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.13.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.92.

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.