AGF Management Ltd. Has $4.52 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,256 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $4,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 228,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,020,000 after purchasing an additional 38,587 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 20.0% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at about $204,000. Realta Investment Advisors bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Platform Technology Partners grew its position in shares of Southern by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Southern stock opened at $91.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.19 and a 200-day moving average of $92.51. The company has a market cap of $100.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.