Pullen Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Pullen Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 409 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 1.6% of Pullen Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Southern by 2.3% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Southern by 1.4% during the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Southern by 5.3% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE SO opened at $95.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.43. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.25 and its 200 day moving average is $92.28.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. KeyCorp raised their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.