Capital Advisors Inc. OK Boosts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its Southern Company stake by 9.6% in the second quarter, adding 99,735 shares to reach 1.14 million shares valued at approximately $109 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the utility’s stock.
• Southern Company reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates of $1.01, while revenue totaled $6.98 billion, below expectations. Analysts project full-year EPS of $4.59.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to $3.04 annually and a 3.4% yield. Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $100.09.

Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,139,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 99,735 shares during the period. Southern makes up 1.6% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Capital Advisors Inc. OK owned approximately 0.10% of Southern worth $109,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,256,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Southern by 18.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $264,829,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $88.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.38. 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 posted 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. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

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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