Bank of Jackson Hole Trust Grows Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust’s holdings in Southern were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 1.5%

SO stock opened at $93.94 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $94.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.40. The company has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. 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, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.66.

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.