First Horizon Advisors Inc. Buys 40,278 Shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,278 shares during the period. Southern makes up about 0.9% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $33,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. R.H. Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at about $221,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Southern by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 26,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in Southern by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 28,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 115,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,653,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 147,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $90.98 on Thursday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $99.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.93.

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.