Mystic Asset Management Inc. Invests $1.91 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,381,344,000 after acquiring an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,450,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $91.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

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.