Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 275.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.31.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $98.15 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $98.42. 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 company has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’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. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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