Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC Invests $1.01 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO opened at $92.83 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.69 and its 200 day moving average is $94.31. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.90%.

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.