Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 32,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,079,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after acquiring an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.
Southern Trading Up 1.3%
Shares of SO opened at $90.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.45 and its 200-day moving average is $94.44.
Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.
Southern Profile
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.
Further Reading
- Five stocks we like better than Southern
- Visa Just Put Hims & Hers in the Penalty Box—Here’s Why It Matters
- Treasury Yields Are Surging Again: 3 Stocks That Could Feel the Pain
- Snowflake Could Be Headed for New Highs Despite Insider Selling
- MongoDB Is Surging—And the Next Catalyst Is Almost Here
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
