Financial Partners Group LLC Sells 2,677 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Financial Partners Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 46.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,677 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.54 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The stock has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.54 and its 200 day moving average is $91.32.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.