Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) Shares Acquired by Chemung Canal Trust Co.

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

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,461,710,000 after purchasing an additional 698,422 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,056,441,000 after acquiring an additional 528,870 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Southern by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after acquiring an additional 460,594 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $848,019,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after acquiring an additional 979,756 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 analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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 upped their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.93.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $93.16. 2,243,994 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,129,153. The firm has a market cap of $102.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $78.61 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $89.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.01.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.