Korea Investment CORP Invests $72.37 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 756,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,368,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.40. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

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.