Western Wealth Management LLC Has $1.14 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Western Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 759 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

SO opened at $90.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.50. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $99.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price objective (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

About Southern

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.