Southern Company (The) $SO Stake Increased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors increased its Southern stake by 148.4% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 63,702 shares valued at approximately $5.28 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Southern carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $98.24; eight analysts rate it Buy, nine Hold, and two Sell.
• Southern beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.13 versus a $1.01 consensus estimate, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.76, equivalent to a 3.3% annualized yield.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 148.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,059 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $5,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 9.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,793,000 after buying an additional 508,149 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $311,895,000 after buying an additional 216,900 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,715,000 after buying an additional 54,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.24.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $106.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $81.69 and a 52 week high of $99.58. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.73 and a 200-day moving average of $92.21.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern's payout ratio is 72.90%.

Southern 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.