Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 6,601 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,601 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 12.7% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,147 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Southern by 10.3% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 167,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,294,000 after purchasing an additional 15,643 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $111,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 228,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,020,000 after purchasing an additional 38,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cowen started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $91.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.50. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.