AGF Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,273 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 120.1% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Southern from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $97.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $90.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.55. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $82.78 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market cap of $99.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.27%.

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.