Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $37.02 Million Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 383,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,648 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $37,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $97.00 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.49 and a 200-day moving average of $92.38. The company has a market capitalization of $109.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.26.

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.