Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Has $3.96 Million Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lessened its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 27.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,016 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE SO opened at $91.39 on Friday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $100.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Southern’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

About Southern

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.