WASHINGTON TRUST Co Raises Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 112.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

Southern Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE SO opened at $91.11 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.50. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $100.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

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.