Clearstead Trust LLC Buys New Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO

Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 7,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Uptick Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG increased its position in Southern by 4.7% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of SO stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on 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 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern 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.