Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Takes $3.30 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL acquired a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 34,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,297,000. Southern comprises 1.3% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth about $1,270,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,135,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,043,000. Odyssean LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 105.3% in the 2nd quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 31,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,027,000 after acquiring an additional 16,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $826,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target 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. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $89.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.31 and its 200-day moving average is $94.43. The company has a market cap of $103.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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 business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. 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 72.90%.

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.