EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $47.01 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 491,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,009,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at about $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average of $94.40. The firm has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

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.