1,992,743 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,992,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $191,120,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.17% of Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $920,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at $139,458,000. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter valued at $1,093,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $737,256,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.2%

Southern stock opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.44. The firm has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.