Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Buys 6,249 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. lifted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,249 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SO. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its position in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its position in shares of Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,753 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Finally, Bell Bank lifted its position in shares of Southern by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 127,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 21,751 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.26.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Southern stock opened at $97.84 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.75.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

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.