Farther Finance Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 41.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,965 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $430,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Southern by 99.2% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 332,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,550,000 after buying an additional 165,428 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 8.5% during the first quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 521,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,979,000 after buying an additional 41,050 shares during the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southern by 8.2% in the first quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.5% in the first quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Southern stock opened at $86.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SO. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $107.00 to $99.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.21.

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.