Vise Technologies Inc. Takes $3.23 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 35,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,232,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Southern by 24.7% during the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,352,000. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1,982.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,672,000 after buying an additional 30,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 154,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,180,000 after buying an additional 2,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $90.78 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.16 and a 200 day moving average of $92.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.