Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,044 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Southern by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,350,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Southern by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 204,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,781,000 after buying an additional 39,990 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $95.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.28. The company has a market cap of $105.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

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). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Southern’s revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued 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 (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on SO shares. Cowen started coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI started 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. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.