KBC Group NV Acquires 14,908 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,908 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Southern by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 822,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,521,000 after buying an additional 42,531 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 981.9% in the second quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 27,610 shares during the period. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 32.0% during the second quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 4,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,232,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $90.65 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $99.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.