32,166 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake 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 bought 32,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,079,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,264,000. Keebeck Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $772,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $209,000. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at $3,407,000. Finally, OneAscent Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth $401,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.10 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $103.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.44. 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 (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

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.