Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 54,820 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,705,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,820 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Southern worth $256,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SO. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. TD Cowen began coverage on Southern in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.21.

Southern Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $86.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $88.14 and its 200 day moving average is $91.95. The company has a market cap of $95.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $80.50 and a 1 year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.27%.

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.