12,800 Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Bought by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $26,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Uptick Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG increased its position in Southern by 4.7% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price objective on Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Southern from $114.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.17.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO opened at $90.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.61 and its 200-day moving average is $92.00. 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 current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during 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%. Southern’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.59 EPS 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Southern Company 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.