Keebeck Wealth Management Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Keebeck Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

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

Southern Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two 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 $94.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.40. The company has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.