MSH Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 21,669 Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• MSH Capital Advisors acquired 21,669 shares of Southern Company worth approximately $2.07 million, while institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09; recent targets range from $79 to $99.
• Southern exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,667,000 after buying an additional 16,878 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 121.4% in 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 buying an additional 969,493 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 29.2% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,887,000 after buying an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $92.22 on Thursday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $94.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.42.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Southern's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio 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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