Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Buys 7,539 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 257,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,539 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $24,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,414,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,084,885,000 after acquiring an additional 510,080 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,006,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,377,494,000 after buying an additional 241,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,179,715,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,567,000 after acquiring an additional 87,891 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 9,099.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,421,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,011,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO opened at $97.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.42. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 14.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 75.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.64.

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.