Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $276.22 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,007,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 72,341 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.27% of Southern worth $276,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $88.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.48.

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. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.