Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Associated Banc Corp

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp increased its stake in Southern Company by 17.3% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 109,048 shares valued at about $10.5 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 consensus estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8.0% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $99.26.

Associated Banc Corp grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,101 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $10,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.4% in the first 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. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG grew its holdings in Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,096,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,509,696. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.09. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 2.89 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.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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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