SageView Advisory Group LLC Purchases 15,975 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 352.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,975 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after purchasing an additional 510,080 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 320.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after buying an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $96.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $105.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.36 and its 200 day moving average is $91.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

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.