Dockside LLC Purchases Shares of 29,642 Southern Company (The) $SO

Dockside LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 29,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.69 and a 200-day moving average of $94.31. 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 (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Company 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.