Western Wealth Management LLC Makes New $826,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 8,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Uptick Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in Southern by 4.7% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.44. 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 (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.