Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $2.83 Million in Southern Company (The) $SO

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 29,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,827,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Uptick Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.09.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. 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 company has a market cap of $106.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.71 and its 200-day moving average is $94.37.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

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

Southern Company 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.