West Tower Group LLC Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 4,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. MBE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 4.4% in the first quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.80 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $107.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.99.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cowen initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.83.

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.