Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Increases Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,861 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Southern were worth $15,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its position in Southern by 1,428.6% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.65 on Friday. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The company has a market capitalization of $99.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.11 and a 200-day moving average of $92.50.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.50 price objective (up previously from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 17th. BTIG Research started coverage on Southern in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays set a $70.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

About Southern

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.