1,735,602 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Energy Income Partners LLC

Energy Income Partners 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 1,735,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $166,114,000. Southern comprises approximately 2.6% of Energy Income Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned 0.15% of Southern at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Southern by 18.7% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth $264,829,000. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Southern stock opened at $92.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $105.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.69 and a 200-day moving average of $94.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Company 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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