14,397 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC

Key Points

• Investor’s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought 14,397 shares of Southern Company worth approximately $1.38 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09; targets range from $79 to $104.
• Southern exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus estimate, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,377,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,667,000 after purchasing an additional 16,878 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in Southern by 29.2% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,887,000 after buying an additional 11,448 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Trading Up 0.2%

SO opened at $89.09 on Monday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern's payout ratio is 72.90%.

About Southern

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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