Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 10,722 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,722 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $27,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its position in Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

SO stock opened at $91.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.13 and its 200 day moving average is $92.50. The firm has a market cap of $100.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.27%.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.