NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• NEOS Investment Management increased its Southern Company stake by 12.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 180,235 shares valued at approximately $17.25 million. 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, compared with shares opening at $87.90.
• Southern beat second-quarter earnings estimates with EPS of $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus, while revenue totaled $6.98 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.5% yield.

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 12.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,070 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $17,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the last quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC raised its stake in Southern by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 3,010 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 19.2% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $10,393,000. Finally, Robbins Farley boosted its position in Southern by 5.4% during the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 42,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of SO opened at $87.90 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $101.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.33. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $93.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.26.

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. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern's payout ratio is 72.90%.

Southern Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source