Callan Capital LLC Invests $304,000 in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Callan Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,301 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,461,710,000 after buying an additional 698,422 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,050,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,056,441,000 after buying an additional 528,870 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,805,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $889,490,000 after buying an additional 460,594 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $848,019,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,794,000 after buying an additional 979,756 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE SO traded up $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.91. 3,235,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,677,265. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $77.71 and a 12 month high of $94.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.38.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.93.

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.