First PREMIER Bank Lowers Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

First PREMIER Bank decreased its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 71,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,996 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises 1.0% of First PREMIER Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $6,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 target price on Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.09.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.80 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 72.90%.

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.