Centaurus Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 38,678 Southern Company (The) $SO

Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 38,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,702,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $737,256,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter valued at $264,829,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $88.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.22 and a 200-day moving average of $94.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

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.