Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC Makes New $370,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Elequin Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.93.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.96 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $89.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.33.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Southern Company 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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