SkyOak Wealth LLC Takes Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its stake in Southern by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Southern by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.

Southern Stock Down 0.7%

Southern stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.60. 5,014,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,708,344. The company has a market cap of $101.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.38. 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 fifty day moving average of $89.82 and a 200-day moving average of $88.15.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change 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 70.64%.

About Southern

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.