Perigon Wealth Management LLC Invests $3.28 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 34,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,279,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Uptick Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 1.5% during the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 2.4% in the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.3% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in shares of Southern by 4.7% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $106.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

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.