Bollard Group LLC Acquires 24,127 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Bollard Group LLC raised its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,127 shares during the period. Southern comprises about 1.0% of Bollard Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $42,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2,785.8% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,358,000 after buying an additional 543,517 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $1,813,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $4,852,000. Finally, Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 700.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 161,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,841,000 after acquiring an additional 141,430 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $98.06 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.58. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.32%.

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.