Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Raised by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Southern by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,352,000. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 1,982.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,672,000 after purchasing an additional 30,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,670,000 after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.66.

Southern Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $103.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.28 and a 200-day moving average of $92.47. 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, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.