Brooklyn Investment Group Buys 3,941 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Southern Company by 36.1%, acquiring an additional 3,941 shares in the first quarter, raising their total holdings to 14,854 shares valued at approximately $1,366,000.
• Several hedge funds have also modified their holdings in Southern Company, with GAMMA Investing increasing its position by 23.2% and other firms like Oppenheimer and Coastal Bridge Advisors also boosting their stakes.
• Southern Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with an upcoming payment date of September 8th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.

Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 36.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group's holdings in Southern were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Southern by 23.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $945,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,815,000 after purchasing an additional 15,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE SO opened at $94.07 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $92.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.25. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $96.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

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.

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