Simplicity Wealth LLC Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired 43,287 shares of Southern Company during the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.14 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.1% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with Southern holding a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.09; recent ratings included downgrades from KeyCorp, Seaport Research Partners, Wall Street Zen and Morgan Stanley.
• Southern beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, equivalent to a 3.3% annualized yield.

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 43,287 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,143,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $92.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.35. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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