Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 225,327 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 211.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 225,327 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Southern were worth $32,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in Southern by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $95.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The firm's 50-day moving average is $94.03 and its 200 day moving average is $93.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

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

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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