<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of  Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 60,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,584,000. Southern makes up  approximately  3.2% of Grant Private Wealth Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position.</p><ul><li>The Utilities Stock at the Center of AI and Rising Electric Bills</li></ul><p>Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of  Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $3,079,000.  Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of  Southern in the 4th quarter worth $1,284,000.  Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of  Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $5,417,000.  Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of  Southern during the fourth quarter worth $9,007,000.  Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in  Southern by 139.0% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 10,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own  64.10% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Analyst Ratings Changes</h2><p>Several research firms recently commented on SO. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a &#34;sector outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley  reissued an &#34;outperform&#34; rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;sell&#34; rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one  has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus price target of $94.92.</p><ul><li>Southern Company: From Nuclear Risk to AI Reward</li></ul><p><b>Get Our Latest Research Report on Southern</b></p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><p>In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. </p><h2>Southern Stock Up 0.4%</h2><ul><li>The Utilities Sector Is Heating Up—Don’t Miss the Breakout</li></ul><p>Southern stock opened at $91.86 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.20. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. </p><p>Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS.  Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that  Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Southern Announces Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given 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 was Monday, August 18th. Southern's payout ratio is presently 76.09%. </p><h2>Southern Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>See Also</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Southern</li><li>What is a Microcap Stock? Everything You Need to Know </li><li>Caterpillar Stock Hits All-Time High—Is There More Room to Run?</li><li>Earnings Per Share Calculator: How to Calculate EPS</li><li>Berkshire-Backed Lennar Slides After Weak Q3 Earnings</li><li>How to Effectively Use the MarketBeat Ratings Screener</li><li>Analysts Turn Bullish on Hershey—Is Pepsi the Next Value Play?</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVNP?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVNP"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Southern Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Southern, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Southern wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Southern currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Grant Private Wealth Management Inc has acquired a new stake in Southern Company (NYSE:SO), purchasing 60,811 shares valued at approximately $5.58 million during the 2nd quarter. This investment represents 3.2% of their holdings, making it their 11th largest position. Several other institutional investors also increased their stakes in Southern. Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus price target of $94.92. Southern Company reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, but revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year.</p>

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO