Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 392,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,100 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Southern were worth $32,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Uptick Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SO. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. DA Davidson set a $98.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.24.

Southern Trading Up 0.8%

Southern stock opened at $93.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $107.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $81.69 and a 12 month high of $99.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.35. 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 (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Southern Company Profile

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.