UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 508,149 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 508,149 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $543,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $737,256,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Southern by 18.7% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at about $264,829,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $88.18 on Monday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

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.