Metis Global Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,601 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $9,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $2,352,000. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 1,982.6% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,672,000 after buying an additional 30,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of SO opened at $91.39 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.50. The company has a market capitalization of $100.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.