United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 81,604 Southern Company (The) $SO

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 81,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,810,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Uptick Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the first quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG grew 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Down 0.9%

Southern stock opened at $88.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

Southern Company 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.