Southern Company (The) $SO Holdings Raised by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its Southern Company stake by 9.8% in the second quarter, adding 508,149 shares to reach 5.68 million shares valued at approximately $543.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the utility company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09. Southern shares recently traded at $88.18, near the lower end of their 12-month range.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates of $1.01, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 508,149 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.49% of Southern worth $543,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Uptick Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Southern by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $88.18 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $101.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $94.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.42.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 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.

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