Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 19.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,992,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 319,389 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $191,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $951,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $733,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $3,980,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $9,023,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $17,839,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $87.90 on Monday. 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 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.25. The company has a market capitalization of $101.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, August 21st. Seven 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.