First PREMIER Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

First PREMIER Bank reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,996 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises approximately 1.0% of First PREMIER Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.40. The stock has a market cap of $101.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

Southern Company 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.