Heartland Bank & Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 303.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,106 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.40. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.91.

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.