Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,044 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.6% during the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,592,000 after acquiring an additional 6,623 shares during the period. Brian Low Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $240,000. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 31,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,864,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.6% during the second quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the second quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 9,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of SO stock opened at $95.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $105.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SO. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.30.

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.