QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,273 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a 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.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $97.84 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.75.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.