Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 44,370 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 29.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 194,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 44,370 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $18,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 21,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the period. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co raised its position in Southern by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 26,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631 shares during the last quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co increased its position in Southern by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co now owns 11,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in Southern by 201.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,395,000 after acquiring an additional 16,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price objective (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.21.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $86.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $95.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.01. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.50 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

About Southern

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.