Becker Capital Management Inc. Has $22.79 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,440 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $22,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 120.1% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SO shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.64.

Southern Stock Up 1.1%

SO stock opened at $97.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $107.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.33. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

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.