Haverford Trust Co Purchases Shares of 12,544 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Haverford Trust Co. purchased 12,544 shares of Southern Company during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding analysts’ $1.01 estimate, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with seven Buy, eleven Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with a $100.09 price target. Shares opened at $89.09, down 2.6%.

Haverford Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,544 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,201,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Southern by 11.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of SO stock opened at $89.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $94.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.40.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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