Advantage Trust Co Purchases 300 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Advantage Trust Co grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 2.3% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,000,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $97.80 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $107.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.06 and its 200 day moving average is $92.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be 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 is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays set a $70.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.83.

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.