Bank of Jackson Hole Trust Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust’s holdings in Southern were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research began coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.66.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.94 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.30 and its 200 day moving average is $92.40. 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 (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 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 company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.