Chemung Canal Trust Co. Purchases 21,180 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 174.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,180 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 29,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,400,000. Finally, Partners in Financial Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Southern Trading Down 0.7%

Southern stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $92.60. The company had a trading volume of 5,014,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,712,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.18. The firm has a market cap of $101.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $79.30 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Southern Company 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.