Advance Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Advance Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,672,000 after buying an additional 30,618 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.4% in the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its position in Southern by 39.1% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 80,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,376,000 after purchasing an additional 22,546 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.27 on Monday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.15. The stock has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’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 owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho upped 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. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.92.

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.