Hennessy Advisors Inc. Acquires 7,800 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 263,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $25,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of SO stock opened at $88.18 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.12 and a 200-day moving average of $94.38. The company has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business 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 firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.