Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys New Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,457,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $139,458,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.13% of Southern at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings 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 purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.88 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $103.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

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.