National Pension Service Grows Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Southern Company stake by 1.9% in the second quarter, adding 54,111 shares to hold 2.93 million shares valued at approximately $280.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with Southern receiving an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $100.09. Several firms recently lowered their targets, including Morgan Stanley, Truist Financial and Barclays.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding estimates of $1.01, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

National Pension Service grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,111 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.25% of Southern worth $280,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $88.37 on Thursday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $92.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.16. The company has a market cap of $101.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Southern's payout ratio is 72.90%.

About Southern

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company's principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company's nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.

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