111 Capital Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

111 Capital bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,000. Southern comprises about 0.6% of 111 Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.38 on Monday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $107.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.64.

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.