Diversify Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 13,678 Southern Company (The) $SO

Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,279,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $94.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.33. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $106.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

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.