Edgar Lomax Co. VA Raises Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Edgar Lomax Co. VA increased its holdings in Southern Company by 61.1% during the 1st quarter, now owning 323,835 shares valued at nearly $29.8 million.
• Southern Company's quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations, reporting $0.91 EPS against a forecast of $0.99, despite a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $0.74 quarterly dividend, which equates to a 3.1% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

Edgar Lomax Co. VA grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,835 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 122,815 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 1.9% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Edgar Lomax Co. VA's holdings in Southern were worth $29,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after buying an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $92.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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