Visionary Wealth Advisors Takes Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Visionary Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 112,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,730,000.

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

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $90.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.45 and its 200-day moving average is $94.44. The company has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 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. 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.