Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $52.66 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 545,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,933 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $52,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Southern by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.78.

Southern Stock Down 0.7%

SO stock opened at $93.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $105.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.