Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,280 shares during the quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $106.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS 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 net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.26.

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.