Reliant Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Reliant Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $564,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $91.47 on Friday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly 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. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on SO shares. 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 research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.