Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 390.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 559,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 445,652 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Southern were worth $54,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.21.

Southern 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.