Heartland Bank & Trust Co Has $912,000 Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 303.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,106 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Southern were worth $912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Uptick Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Southern by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.33 on Friday. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.91.

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.