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SPC Financial Inc. Invests $1.17 Million in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Southern logo with Utilities background

Key Points

  • SPC Financial Inc. has invested approximately $1.17 million in Southern Company by purchasing 12,712 shares during the first quarter.
  • Research analysts have rated Southern Company with ten "hold" ratings, five "buy" ratings, and two "sell" ratings, reflecting a consensus price target of $94.27.
  • Southern Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.
  • Five stocks we like better than Southern.

SPC Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 12,712 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after acquiring an additional 460,594 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after acquiring an additional 979,756 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Southern by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,527 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,046,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,107,000 after purchasing an additional 120,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,617,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,803 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Get Our Latest Report on SO

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock traded up $1.03 on Monday, hitting $96.02. 5,837,308 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,309,095. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $91.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.50. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

About Southern

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southern (NYSE:SO)

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