Equitable Holdings Inc. Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 83,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,040,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.9%

SO opened at $88.94 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.34. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.42.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SO. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

About Southern

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.