8,553 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Bought by Northstar Financial Companies Inc.

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,455,000. 1ST Source Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $659,000. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. Finally, Sound Portfolio Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $295,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SO. Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $92.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.35. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.Southern’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

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.