Summit Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 7,100 Southern Company (The) $SO

Summit Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,667,000 after purchasing an additional 16,878 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $2,462,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 201,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,539,000 after purchasing an additional 32,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Southern by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,150,000 after buying an additional 969,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.69 and its 200 day moving average is $94.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

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.