Callan Family Office LLC Purchases New Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO

Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 44,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,264,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired 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.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.40. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued 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 is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SO. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.