Welch Group LLC Purchases 10,908 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,908 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 2.3% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.07% of Southern worth $66,208,000 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 business. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 130,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,827,000 after acquiring an additional 37,247 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 19.1% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 92,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,908,000 after purchasing an additional 14,798 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,887,000 after purchasing an additional 11,448 shares in the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $1,908,000. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $3,059,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.70 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.35. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $81.69 and a 12 month high of $99.58. The company has a market cap of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.30.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.24.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.