1,642,660 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,642,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $157,217,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $737,256,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $264,829,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $89.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $103.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.31 and its 200 day moving average is $94.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.