Argent Advisors Inc. Buys 315 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in Southern by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its position in Southern by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $90.78 on Monday. Southern Company has a one year low of $0.74 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.93.

Southern 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.