Citizens National Bank Trust Department Grows Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 26.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 24.7% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 34,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,171,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in Southern by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Shelton Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,841,000 after acquiring an additional 141,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 822,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 42,531 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.50 price objective (up from $99.50) on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.21.

Southern Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $86.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.01. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.50 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

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.