Trust Co. of Vermont Buys New Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont acquired 23,114 Southern Company shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.21 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 64.10% of the utility’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with seven Buy, eleven Hold and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $100.09, compared with the stock’s opening price of $92.42.
• Southern exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $6.98 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,212,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Southern by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,587,589,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,004,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,450,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $106.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.80 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.71 and a 200-day moving average of $94.37.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

About Southern

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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