iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 9,154 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 227,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,154 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $20,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $510,229,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,210,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,582,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,724 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Southern by 125.4% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,349,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,059,000 after purchasing an additional 750,500 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Southern by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,161,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,789,000 after purchasing an additional 623,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Southern by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,200,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,253,000 after purchasing an additional 499,996 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.48. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.30 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.540-0.540 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price objective (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.66.

Southern Company 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.