Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases 10,400 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 132.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SO. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $109.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.33.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released 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 was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

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.