Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.5385.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho lifted 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays set a $70.00 target price on Southern in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.3% in 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 period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.1% in 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 period. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.0%

SO opened at $99.67 on Thursday. Southern has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $109.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) 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.