Simmons Bank Acquires 5,880 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Simmons Bank increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,880 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $96.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.52 and its 200 day moving average is $92.46.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.26.

About Southern

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.