Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its stake in Southern Company by 50.5% in Q3, selling 19,164 shares and leaving it with 18,757 shares valued at about $1.78 million.
• Capital World Investors increased its position by 320.3% to 33,548,852 shares (≈$3.18 billion), and institutional investors now own roughly 64.10% of the company.
• Southern reported Q results of $0.55 EPS (missed by $0.01) and $6.98B revenue (up 10.1% YoY); the stock has a consensus "Hold" rating with a $98.08 target and a 3.0% dividend yield.

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,164 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFC Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. PFC Capital Group Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,560,000. Capital International Inc. CA raised its stake in Southern by 57.0% during the third quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 481,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,602,000 after purchasing an additional 174,642 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Southern by 3.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,628,000 after acquiring an additional 285,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $103.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Down 0.2%

SO stock opened at $97.24 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $107.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50-day moving average is $91.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern's payout ratio is 75.32%.

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.

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