Citizens Business Bank Sells 155 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Citizens Business Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Citizens Business Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 target price (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $97.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.99. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.83. 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 capitalization of $107.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend 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.