Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Purchased by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,163 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ holdings in Southern were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.91.

Southern Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $95.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $108.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Southern 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.