100,553 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 100,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,624,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,829,000. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $106.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $94.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.37.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Company 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.