Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Trimmed by Viawealth LLC

Viawealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 11.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 969 shares during the period. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its position in Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cowen started coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.03.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.43. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $98.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 73.27%.

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.