Citizens National Bank Trust Department Acquires 7,716 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,716 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Southern by 0.7% in 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 during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,320,000 after purchasing an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.62 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.14. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 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.