L2 Asset Management LLC Makes New $614,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Uptick Partners LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

About Southern

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.