D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $10.28 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 106,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,161 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Southern were worth $10,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE SO opened at $95.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.19 and its 200 day moving average is $93.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.91.

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.