Fulton Bank N.A. Purchases 7,023 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 35.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,023 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $91.86 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $105.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.63 and its 200 day moving average is $94.25. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $106.00 price objective on Southern in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.26.

Southern 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.