Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Acquired by Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 23.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,070 shares during the quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Southern by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after purchasing an additional 508,149 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,785,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $313,785,000 after purchasing an additional 19,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Southern by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after purchasing an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $93.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.37 and a 200-day moving average of $92.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $81.69 and a 12-month high of $99.58.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 16.00%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Capital One Financial set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total transaction of $306,002.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,927,453.66. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company is an energy holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, it generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas service, primarily across the southeastern United States. Its electric utility businesses include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers in their respective states. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which develops and operates wholesale power generation assets, and Southern Company Gas, whose businesses distribute natural gas to customers in several states.