Southern Company (The) $SO Stock Position Raised by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2,785.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 543,517 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 1.7% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Southern worth $53,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Southern by 17.2% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 145,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,781,000 after acquiring an additional 21,302 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 6.4% during the third quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the period. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.2% in the third quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 61,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.91.

Southern Stock Up 0.2%

SO opened at $89.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.62. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $82.78 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. 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 business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.