TIAA Trust National Association Purchases 15,373 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 206,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,373 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Southern were worth $19,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.64.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $97.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $107.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.74 and its 200-day moving average is $91.37.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

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.