Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Wiser Wealth Management Inc

Wiser Wealth Management Inc lowered its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 55.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,356 shares during the quarter. Wiser Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $94.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.40. The company has a market cap of $104.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.08.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.