Aviva PLC Buys 771 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Southern by 275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Southern stock opened at $91.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $101.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.51. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 target price (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.56.

Southern Company 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.