Associated Banc Corp Reduces Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Associated Banc Corp decreased its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price target (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 17th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.03.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $89.17 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $98.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

About Southern

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.