VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $32.89 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 343,619 shares of Southern Company worth approximately $32.9 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors own 64.1% of the utility’s outstanding shares.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates of $1.01, while revenue totaled $6.98 billion versus the $7.23 billion consensus forecast. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $4.59.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.04 payout and a 3.5% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $100.09.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 343,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $32,888,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Southern by 9,736.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 125,596,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,020,878,000 after purchasing an additional 124,319,975 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 197.9% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,514,000 after buying an additional 17,451 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Southern by 3.2% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 18,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,768,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 49.6% in the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 2,773 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 9.8% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 210,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,109,000 after buying an additional 18,795 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $87.90 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $93.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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