Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 595.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 130,758 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,725,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after purchasing an additional 241,572 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after purchasing an additional 87,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $87.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.76. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $82.05 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

Southern Profile

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.