Becker Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,440 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 17.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 21,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 10,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.64.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $97.38 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $107.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

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.