Capital City Trust Co. FL Purchases Shares of 5,945 Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Capital City Trust Co. FL has invested approximately $547,000 in Southern Company (NYSE: SO) by acquiring 5,945 shares, signaling confidence in the utilities provider's stock.
• Southern Company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.74 on September 8th, with an annualized dividend of $2.96, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.10%.
• Equities analysts have mixed ratings on Southern Company, with a consensus target price of $93.53, showing a combination of sell, hold, and buy ratings among experts.

Capital City Trust Co. FL purchased a new position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $547,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Investors Research Corp raised its position in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Elequin Capital LP boosted its stake in Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.18. 5,217,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,564,042. The firm's fifty day moving average is $90.97 and its 200 day moving average is $89.15. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $104.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.53.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.