Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 229,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,940,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.09.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Southern
Southern Trading Down 0.8%
Shares of Southern stock opened at $91.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.44. 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 (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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared 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. 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 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.
Southern Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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