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

Keebeck Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 17.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at $655,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after buying an additional 46,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $102.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.