56,481 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Purchased by United Bank

United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SOFree Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 56,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,406,000. Southern accounts for approximately 1.6% of United Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Get Our Latest Research Report on SO

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $106.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.42. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern (NYSE:SOGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southern (NYSE:SO)

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