NewEdge Wealth LLC Invests $1.33 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $2,077,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $260,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,077,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $301,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SO. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. 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 report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of 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. Seven equities 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 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 fifty day simple moving average of $94.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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