Cvfg LLC Raises Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

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

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its stake in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 243.3% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $2,462,000. Finally, Bell Bank boosted its position in Southern by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 127,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 21,751 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

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

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.