Prospera Financial Services Inc Purchases 19,411 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 25.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 97,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,411 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Southern by 2.3% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 10,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on SO shares. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 target price (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Southern from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $91.39 on Friday. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.50. The firm has a market cap of $100.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.