Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 159,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd 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 in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Up 2.2%

Southern stock opened at $98.23 on Monday. 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 simple moving average is $93.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.74. The company has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $98.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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 analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.