EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 491,161 Southern Company (The) $SO

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 491,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,009,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors boosted 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 valued at $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,829,000. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.40. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern 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.