Empowered Funds LLC Raises Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Empowered Funds increased its Southern Company stake by 23% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 66,631 shares valued at approximately $6.43 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Southern Company reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding analysts’ $1.01 consensus estimate, while revenue of $6.98 billion fell short of expectations. Analysts project full-year EPS of $4.58.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a $3.04 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield. Wall Street maintains a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $100.09.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,472 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $6,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 13,106.7% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp lowered shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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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