Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 141.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,966 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its stake in Southern by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 23.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,467,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,669,711. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $89.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.81. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

About Southern

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.