Allen Capital Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 38.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,205 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altman Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.0% during the first quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 11,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $458,000. Parthenon LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 6.8% during the first quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 39,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,571,000 after buying an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.20.

Southern Trading Up 0.9%

SO stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.26. 4,498,115 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,733,961. The company has a market capitalization of $102.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.32.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Southern Company 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.