Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern Company by 11.9%, owning a total of 164,123 shares valued at approximately $15.09 million as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Southern Company reported a Q1 2023 EPS of $1.23, exceeding forecasts by $0.03, alongside a revenue of $7.78 billion that is 17% higher compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, providing a 3.10% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,491 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $15,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 11,230.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,690,000 after buying an additional 1,936,965 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 562.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,679,000 after buying an additional 1,162,288 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after buying an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1,747.3% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 896,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,785,000 after buying an additional 847,803 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $93.69. 5,702,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,133,726. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company's 50 day moving average price is $91.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.23.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.53.

Southern 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.