Oakworth Capital Inc. Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,133 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Southern by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syverson Strege & Co increased its position in Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $90.30 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $89.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.96 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

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.

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