Diversify Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Diversify Wealth Management LLC opened a new position in Southern Company during the first quarter, buying 13,678 shares valued at about $1.279 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.32 per share and revenue of $8.40 billion, both ahead of Wall Street estimates.
• The utility also raised its dividend to $0.76 per share quarterly, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $99.26.

Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,279,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 213,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co boosted its position in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 226,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,847,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Southern by 211.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 331,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,040,000 after purchasing an additional 225,327 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 62.6% in the first quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 387 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $106.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.33. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern Company 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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