Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Makes New $595,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 6,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.36 and a 200-day moving average of $94.44. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Southern Profile

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.