KCM Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 750 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 12.7% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Southern by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 167,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,294,000 after buying an additional 15,643 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 228,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,020,000 after buying an additional 38,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $91.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.19 and a 200 day moving average of $92.50. The company has a market cap of $100.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.