Chemung Canal Trust Co. Has $3.06 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 174.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,180 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.93.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

SO traded up $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,235,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,677,266. The company has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a one year low of $77.71 and a one year high of $94.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $89.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.