Bollard Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Southern Company (The) were worth $8,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 10.8% in the first quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) during the first quarter worth approximately $103,000. Feltz Wealth PLAN Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) during the first quarter worth approximately $108,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 358.8% in the first quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Company (The) by 15.3% in the first quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 53.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Southern Company (SO) traded down 1.426% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.656. The stock had a trading volume of 2,773,120 shares. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $46.20 and a 52-week high of $53.73. The firm has a market cap of $48.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.026 and a beta of 0.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.48.
Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Southern Company (The) had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post $2.95 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. Southern Company (The)’s payout ratio is 346.27%.
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Credit Suisse Group upgraded Southern Company (The) from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Southern Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern Company (The) from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Barclays PLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Southern Company (The) in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup Inc. upped their price objective on Southern Company (The) from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Southern Company (The) has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.54.
In other Southern Company (The) news, insider Ann P. Daiss sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $256,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,164.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Art P. Beattie sold 46,940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $2,417,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,063,889.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 76,940 shares of company stock worth $3,961,310. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Southern Company (The)
The Southern Company (Southern Company) is a holding company. The Company owns all of the stock of the traditional electric operating companies and the parent entities of Southern Power Company (Southern Power) and Southern Company Gas, and owns other direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Gas distribution operations, Gas marketing services, Wholesale gas services, Gas midstream operations and All other.
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