Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 94.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 685,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 333,433 shares during the period. Southern accounts for 3.7% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Southern worth $65,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 9,099.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth about $103,342,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.4%

Southern stock opened at $86.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.95. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.50 and a 12 month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.21.

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.