Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Evercore ISI set a $103.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.77.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related 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 value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:SO opened at $95.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.