Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 2,726 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,726 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the second quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.66.

Southern Trading Up 1.7%

SO stock opened at $95.11 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $104.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Southern 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.