Signature Wealth Management Group Acquires 1,586 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Signature Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 4.4% of Signature Wealth Management Group’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Signature Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Research Corp increased its position in Southern by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP grew its holdings in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $90.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.71 and a 200-day moving average of $87.30. The Southern Company has a one year low of $76.96 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $99.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James initiated coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

About Southern

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.