Sculati Wealth Management LLC Sells 565 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Sculati Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 565 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $90.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.50. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.27%.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.