Southern Company (The) $SO Stock: Lido Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings

Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 172,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,701 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $14,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $737,256,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $264,829,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $191,120,000. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $166,114,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $157,217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.32.

Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.74 on Thursday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $81.69 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The stock has a market cap of $109.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.49 and a 200 day moving average of $92.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 16.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 69.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sterling Spainhour, Jr. sold 3,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $306,002.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,453.66. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.