iSAM Funds UK Ltd Sells 14,737 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

iSAM Funds UK Ltd decreased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 59.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,737 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 23.4% in the second quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares in the last quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,393,000. Finally, Robbins Farley lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 42,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.32 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.35. The stock has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

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.