Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Invests $407,000 in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,429 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $407,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.93.

Southern Stock Down 0.7%

SO opened at $92.60 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $79.30 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.15. The company has a market cap of $101.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. Southern's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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