Swiss National Bank Purchases 229,900 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,320,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 229,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Southern worth $304,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $88.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 73.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price objective (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.03.

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.