Rather & Kittrell Inc. Takes $680,000 Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Rather & Kittrell Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,904,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,725,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after acquiring an additional 241,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after acquiring an additional 87,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 9,099.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Southern stock opened at $89.00 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $82.05 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.86. The company has a market capitalization of $98.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Southern from $107.00 to $99.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.03.

Southern Company Profile

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.