Blair William & Co. IL Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,857 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $97.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.47. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $107.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.