61,500 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Csenge Advisory Group

Key Points

• Csenge Advisory Group acquired 61,500 shares of Southern Company in the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.1% of the utility company.
• Southern reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating analyst expectations of $1.01, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. Analysts project full-year EPS of $4.58.
• Southern declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equivalent to $3.04 annually and a 3.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $100.09.

Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 61,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,886,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $4,443,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Southern by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,667,000 after acquiring an additional 16,878 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,767,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $154,150,000 after acquiring an additional 969,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 29.2% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 50,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $92.22 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $94.66 and its 200-day moving average is $94.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $106.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

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.

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