Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,066 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 309.5% during the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.21.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $87.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $96.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.04. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.27%.

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.