TIAA Trust National Association Decreases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

TIAA Trust National Association reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 190,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 35,391 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Southern were worth $17,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.20 on Monday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $103.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.28 and its 200 day moving average is $92.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.Southern’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, October 17th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.