Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,312 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,456 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $19,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP raised its holdings in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.64.
Check Out Our Latest Report on SO
Southern Trading Up 0.8%
Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $90.25. 7,120,474 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,539,998. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average price is $89.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.31. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $76.96 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.
Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm'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 research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Southern Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.
About Southern
(
Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories
Before you consider Southern, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Southern wasn't on the list.
While Southern currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
