Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. Has $37.60 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 389,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,881 shares during the period. Southern accounts for 2.6% of Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $37,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 55,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,353,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Cvfg LLC increased its stake in Southern by 263.2% in the 1st quarter. Cvfg LLC now owns 23,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 17,237 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 5,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 50,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,893,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

Southern Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of SO opened at $96.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.98 and a 200 day moving average of $93.00. The company has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.