Montecito Bank & Trust Makes New Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 10,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $430,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Southern by 39.1% during the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 80,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,376,000 after purchasing an additional 22,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $87.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $96.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued 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. Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SO shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.21.

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.