Cornerstone Capital Inc. Takes $4.81 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Cornerstone Capital acquired 50,301 Southern Company shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.81 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09; Southern opened at $92.83.
• Southern reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.01, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

Cornerstone Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 50,301 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,814,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average price is $94.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

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.

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