Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Invests $819,000 in Southern Company (The) $SO

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Southern by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after acquiring an additional 384,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,450,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.09.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Southern stock opened at $92.83 on Monday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.35.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Southern Company Profile

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.