Corient Private Wealth LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,898 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $20,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 309.5% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of SO opened at $87.19 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.62 and a 200 day moving average of $92.24. The firm has a market cap of $96.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.21.

Southern Company Profile

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.