GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Buys 7,274 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 353,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares during the period. Southern makes up approximately 1.7% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $32,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of SO opened at $98.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.62 and a 200 day moving average of $91.73. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $98.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

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.