Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Raises Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 135.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,471 shares during the quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after buying an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,753 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $2,462,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Southern by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 99,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,667,000 after acquiring an additional 16,878 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.21.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors 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 yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

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.