NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $12.19 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 24.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,235 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after purchasing an additional 510,080 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,377,494,000 after buying an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $621,567,000 after buying an additional 87,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.00 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.31. The firm has a market cap of $101.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is 73.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.91.

Southern Company 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.