FORA Capital LLC Invests $1.42 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,422,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial raised its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $98.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.59. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial set a $103.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.