18,253 Shares in Southern Company (The) $SO Acquired by NBT Bank N.A.

NBT Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SO. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,895,000 after buying an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Southern by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,793,000 after acquiring an additional 508,149 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Southern by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,895,000 after acquiring an additional 216,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Southern by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,715,000 after acquiring an additional 54,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.31. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southern from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.24.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern’s electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.