Resonant Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:SO opened at $95.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.36. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $105.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS 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 issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 target price (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.66.

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.