12,544 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by Haverford Trust Co

by · The Markets Daily

Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 12,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,201,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. 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 during the period. 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after acquiring an additional 384,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for 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%. Southern’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

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About Southern

(Free Report)

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.

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