Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Cahaba Wealth Management increased its stake in Southern Company by 14.7% in the first quarter, buying 49,881 more shares and bringing its total holding to 389,578 shares worth about $37.6 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion versus the $8.07 billion forecast, with revenue up 8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.2%, while analysts currently assign the stock a consensus Hold rating and a $99.26 price target.

Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 389,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,881 shares during the period. Southern comprises 2.6% of Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $37,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of SO stock opened at $96.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.26.

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.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.