Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 209,303 Southern Company (The) $SO

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 209,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,032,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,667,000 after acquiring an additional 16,878 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Southern by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,150,000 after acquiring an additional 969,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in Southern by 29.2% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE SO opened at $92.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $105.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.69 and its 200 day moving average is $94.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Company 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.