Accurate Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 145,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,319,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at $14,560,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Southern by 1.1% during the second quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 98,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. LVZ Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 2.0% during the second quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 30.2% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Southern Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.63 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-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’s 50-day moving average price is $93.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven 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 an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.