Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. cut its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Southern were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.08.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

SO stock opened at $94.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $104.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.40. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.