Raymond James & Associates Has $152.10 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,120,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 58,395 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Southern were worth $152,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC lifted its position in Southern by 6.7% during the third quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 66,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after buying an additional 2,342 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 5,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 947,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,308,000 after acquiring an additional 15,059 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.6 %

SO traded up $1.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.39. 3,852,201 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,719,605. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.80 and its 200 day moving average is $69.45. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock worth $739,587 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.