Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,992,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $191,120,000.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Uptick Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 2.4% in the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.
Southern Price Performance
Shares of SO stock opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.44. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.
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