7,346 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC

Wedbush Fund Advisers 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 7,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $737,256,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $264,829,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.