Asset Planning Corporation Sells 1,845 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Asset Planning Corporation decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,845 shares during the period. Southern makes up 0.3% of Asset Planning Corporation’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Asset Planning Corporation’s holdings in Southern were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Southern by 5.3% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 17,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire grew its position in Southern by 11.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.77.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $95.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.47 and a 200-day moving average of $91.52. 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 company has a market capitalization of $105.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.