Retirement Planning Group LLC Increases Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 355.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,402 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 275.0% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 309.5% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Southern from $107.00 to $99.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.21.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of SO stock opened at $87.49 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.03 and a 200 day moving average of $91.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $81.41 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.