Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 34,768 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 9.4% in the first quarter, adding 34,768 shares to reach 402,801 shares valued at about $38.9 million.
• Southern’s latest earnings topped expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying a $3.04 annualized payout and a 3.2% yield.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 402,801 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 34,768 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $38,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven 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 MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $96.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $108.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.27. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Southern 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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