Union Savings Bank Makes New $593,000 Investment in Southern Company (The) $SO

Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 6,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $593,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,848,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,249,000 after buying an additional 103,518 shares in the last quarter. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in Southern by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 12,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $268,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $93.23 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 has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.07.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.32.

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.