Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 30,490 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 606,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,490 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Southern were worth $55,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price target (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $90.65 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.51. The firm has a market cap of $99.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Southern Company 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.