Bey Douglas LLC Grows Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Bey Douglas LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 0.3% of Bey Douglas LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Bey Douglas LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 2.2%

Southern stock opened at $98.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.71. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $98.36. 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 (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 in the prior year, the business posted $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. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

About Southern

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.