MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $232,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Southern during the second quarter worth about $2,566,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,644,000. Finally, Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $92.22 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.42. 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 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $106.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted 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. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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 MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.