Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by HB Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management increased its Southern stake by 9.8% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 210,104 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding estimates of $1.01, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, representing a 3.5% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Southern holding a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09, compared with a recent share price of $87.90.

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,795 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $20,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,443,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,493 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 29.2% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,887,000 after buying an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 114.2% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 45,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,934,000 after buying an additional 24,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Southern by 19.1% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 92,289 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,908,000 after buying an additional 14,798 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $87.90 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $101.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $93.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.09.

About Southern

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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