Hayek Kallen Investment Management Makes New $2.70 Million Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Hayek Kallen Investment Management purchased 28,200 Southern Company shares worth approximately $2.70 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the utility’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09; recent targets range from $79 to $104.
• Southern beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 in EPS versus the $1.01 consensus estimate. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.4% annualized yield.

Hayek Kallen Investment Management purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 28,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,699,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,443,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,493 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Southern by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,887,000 after purchasing an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 158,292 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $88.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.42. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

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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