Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $8.92 Million Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,411 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 20.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 228,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,020,000 after purchasing an additional 38,587 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Southern by 6.1% during the first quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 1.6% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 156,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $407,000. Finally, Callahan Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $91.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.19 and its 200-day moving average is $92.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $100.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Cowen began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Company 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.