M&G PLC Makes New $1.88 Million Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

M&G PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 19,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,884,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 120.1% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

Southern Stock Down 3.1%

Southern stock opened at $92.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $101.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.31.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 73.27%.

About Southern

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.