Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 122,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,920 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of SO opened at $90.41 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $81.69 and a 52-week high of $99.58. The company has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.17.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.