Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 15.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,232 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter worth $36,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.65 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

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.