Continuum Advisory LLC Sells 235 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

23 May 2025, 07:03 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Continuum Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO – Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,461,710,000 after acquiring an additional 698,422 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,056,441,000 after acquiring an additional 528,870 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Southern by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $889,490,000 after acquiring an additional 460,594 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $848,019,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,599,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,288,000 after acquiring an additional 194,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.0%

SO stock opened at $88.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.64 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.19.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.21.

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Southern Profile

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