Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Foster Victor Wealth Advisors increased its Southern Company stake by 16% in the third quarter, acquiring 16,920 additional shares for a total of 122,738 shares valued at approximately $11.0 million. Institutional investors own 64.1% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $98.17, compared with shares trading near $90.41.
• Southern reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.01, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,738 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,920 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $10,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 315,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,138,000 after purchasing an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Robbins Farley boosted its stake in Southern by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 42,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,537,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SO shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.17.

Southern Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SO opened at $90.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.00. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $81.69 and a 52 week high of $99.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern's electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company's generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

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