RFG Advisory LLC Has $10.78 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. KeyCorp lowered 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.21. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. 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 (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

About Southern

Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is an energy holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services through a group of regulated utility subsidiaries. Its electric utilities generate, transmit and distribute power to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while its gas businesses distribute natural gas and provide related energy services.

The company’s principal electric subsidiaries include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Southern Company also operates Southern Nuclear, which manages the company’s nuclear generation interests, including the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia.