Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by Cvfg LLC

Cvfg LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 263.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,237 shares during the period. Cvfg LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

Southern stock opened at $97.21 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $109.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.94.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

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.