D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 5,931 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $96.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.18.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly 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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’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. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid 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 yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays set a $70.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued 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 given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.30.

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.