Evanson Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 2,779 Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Evanson Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $89.09 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $97.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.96 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.93.

Southern Profile

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.