Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Decreases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lessened its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 713 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $94.56 on Monday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $93.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $104.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Southern’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 anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio 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.