SageView Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• SageView Advisory Group boosted its stake in Southern Company by 352.7% in Q3 to 20,504 shares (about $1.94M), amid other small institutional buys that leave total institutional ownership at 64.10%.
• Southern reported $0.55 EPS (missing consensus by $0.01) while revenue rose 10.1% to $6.98B; it pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.96) for a ~3.1% yield, and analysts carry a consensus "Hold" rating with a $98.08 price target.

SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 352.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,975 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $96.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $105.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's fifty day moving average is $91.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.51. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid 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 yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.08.

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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