First United Bank & Trust Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

First United Bank & Trust increased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,018,000 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 company. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $89.58 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.96 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.64.

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.