The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Bought by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 219.4% in the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 6,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,212,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,357,830. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $89.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.00.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.