Czech National Bank Has $30.71 Million Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 320,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,992 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Southern were worth $30,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:SO opened at $92.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.18. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $106.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.23 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 15.43%.The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Southern from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.26.

Southern 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.