Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 257,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,539 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $24,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,179,715,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 9,099.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,011,000 after buying an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after buying an additional 1,867,912 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 1,694,066 shares during the period. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $103,342,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $97.67 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $90.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.42. The firm has a market cap of $107.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.64.

Southern 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.